Greenhouse emissions create cloud over dairying
If you're both confused and concerned about how this whole environmental sustainability thing will affect those of us in the dairy industry, you are not alone. We've read and heard more on the subject already than we would like to think about, and we still don't feel very informed.
We realize that there is a lot of misinformation out there on this topic. Some of it is from well-meaning people who just maybe haven't had a chance to get all of the facts straight yet (there's a lot that nobody knows at this point), and some of it is from people who are trying to make a buck, either by selling some product or service.
We' re glad that Dairy Management, Inc., and others in the industry are making a serious attempt to put together some sound and needed information through the Innovation Center for Dairy. Among other things, the Center has formed a "cow of the future" working group with the goal of seeing what can be done to reduce methane emissions from our cows (the single largest component of the dairy industry's carbon footprint). DMI CEO Tom Gallagher recently said that cutting the dairy industry's emissions by 25 percent would be equivalent to removing 1.25 million passenger cars from the nation's roads.
In the background of sustainability issues is what kind of public policy will evolve and how that will affect dairying and agriculture and other businesses and industries. Any policies and laws developed will need a strong consensus in Washington because of action taken recently by U.S. Senate. A total of 65 Senators rejected a procedural move that would have limited debate on any "cap and trade" legislation. In other words, any "cap and trade" legislation would need 60 votes in the Senate, not just a simple majority of 50.
That should give some comfort to those in our industry and the rest of the business community that economic impacts will be considered along with environmental impacts as our nation addresses climate-related issues.
Labels: Cap and trade, Carbon footprint, DMI
posted by Hoard's Dairyman at
7:55 AM
1 Comments:
Many people are aware of the production of methane from cattle and are talking about it on the internet. One thing that hasn't registered in the discussion is that the methane is not coming from the cattle, but is coming from the plant material that has been anaerobically processed by the rumen microorganisms. That means that methane would have been produced if the plant matter had been left to rot anaerobically in the field and the cow happens to be an innocent bystander.
Research that needs to be done is to compare the amount of methane that comes from a cow after pushing a ton of grass through her and the amount of methane that comes from a ton of grass allowed to rot in the field. The difference between the two numbers is due to the cow, not the total amount of methane that comes from the cow. This concept needs to enter the public discussion to counteract the propaganda put out by those who want to eliminate animal agriculture altogether and are using this as spin to push their agenda.
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