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Counting It All In, Counting It All Out – New SAC “GreenCow” Research Facility For Gas Emissions (Archived Content)

SAC News Release Ref. No: 09N59
Published: 24 Sep 2009

SAC has won a grant for research equipment worth some £1 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Scottish Government. It will help research on reducing livestock greenhouse gas emissions. With the “GreenCow” equipment researchers can make accurate measurements of what the cattle take in and what they give out. The new facility is a significant addition to SAC’s beef research capability.

Prof Geoff Simm – Academic Director designate at SAC and leader of the bid commented: “We need to double global food production over the next 50 years to feed the growing human population.  However, we must also reduce the environmental footprint of food production, including greenhouse gas emissions.  Cattle and sheep account for over a third of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in the UK, but they also produce quality food products from the grass and forages that aren’t for human consumption.”

According to Professor Simm, the GreenCow grant and the state of the art facilities give SAC the opportunity to develop new tools for cattle and sheep breeders and producers.  It will help them meet the challenge of feeding a hungrier world with more sustainable use of resources.

Among the facilities to be installed at SAC are special pens where cattle will be housed for short periods. They will be free to move around and exhibit natural behaviour while their intake of food will be monitored and their methane emissions and eructations (burping) measured.

According to SAC Research Engineer Dave Ross, who planned the facility, the equipment could be described as the equivalent of a “cow breathalyser”.

One of the first objectives of the SAC team will be to develop more portable, simple measures that can identify lower methane-producing livestock for use in breed improvement programmes. They see many other potential applications in developing ‘lower carbon’ food production, and will be collaborating with other research and industry users on these.

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News Release Contacts

SAC Contact

Professor Geoff Simm
Academic Director & Vice Principal (Research)
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, Peter Wilson Building, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4219
Fax 0131 535 4242

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News Release Issued By

Mr Ken Rundle
Senior Communications Officer
SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Work SAC, King's Buildings, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh
EH9 3JG
TelWork 0131 535 4196

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Notes for Editors

1. The total value of the grant is £988k and it was awarded under the Lowlands and Uplands Scotland Operational Programme of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) with co-funding from the Scottish Government Rural & Environmental Research & Analysis Directorate and SAC. Contributions are as follows: ERDF - £379,921; Scottish Government - £510,953; SAC – £97,500.

2. Defra statistics show that beef cattle enteric methane emissions (from rumen fermentation) are 17.5% (in carbon dioxide equivalent) of UK agricultural emissions, including land use and land use change. Dairy cattle and sheep enteric emissions are around 10% and 8% respectively of UK agricultural emissions.

3. The equipment will be installed and tested over the next year.

4. For more details on the facility, please contact Dave Ross (0131 535 3023) or Geoff Simm (0131 535 3209), Tony Waterhouse ( 01786 824540) at SAC.