Savvy marketing? Looking for mandates and incentives? Taxation opportunity?
Burps are the top source of methane emissions from cattle. Semex, the genetics company that sold Loewith the semen, said adoption of the low-methane trait could reduce methane emissions from Canada’s dairy herd by 1.5% annually, and up to 20%-30% by 2050.
The Canadian government currently offers no incentives for low-methane cattle breeding, but the agriculture department said in an email that Ottawa is working to introduce offset credits for reducing methane through better manure management.
New Zealand will begin taxing farmers for methane from cattle in 2025.
Reuters
Common sense reservations:
Juha Nousiainen, senior vice-president at Valio, a Finnish dairy, warned that breeding cattle to burp less methane could create digestive problems. Methane is produced by microbes in the cow’s gut as it digests fibre, not by the animal itself, he said.
We have our own genetically engineered livestock offshore. 😀
Bud's Offshore Energy (BOE) 