Episode 1: Can we do something about methane without ruining farming?

There’s a lot of talk about greenhouse gas emissions and the unique makeup of NewZealand’s emissions, due to our being a big primary producer of food. Is there a way to address this without slashing stock numbers and making farming virtually impossible? In this episode we’ll talk to two AgResearch experts to see what’s being done to meet this problem – firstly, Dr Suzanne Rowe, a geneticist based at our Invermay campus near Dunedin, who’s spent years researching the breeding of sheep for lower methane emissions, something it turns out is very achievable, without harming production. It sounds too good to be true, but it’s not. Listen as Suzanne explains how we test animals and how much of an impact it can have on flock emissions over time. And it’s not just methane we’re working on, nitrous oxide is also a concern in New Zealand – Dr Brent Barrett from our Grasslands campus in Palmerston North talks about why it’s a problem, how plants have evolved to change the environment around them and how exploring a trait that already exists in some of our ryegrass and other species could really help cut it down and make the most of nutrients we’re already using on-farm. For more details about testing your livestock for lower methane genetics, check out: https://www.agresearch.co.nz/partnering-with-us/products-and-services/agpac/ Learn more about the science behind breeding for lower methane emissions:https://www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/low-methane-sheep/ Sheep breeder Alistair Reeves recently spoke about how he’s managed to lower methane emissions by 3.2% over the last four years, with no impact on production: https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/farm-management/a-farm-where-every-day-is-an-open-day/ Find out more about Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI): www.agresearch.co.nz/our-research/bni/          See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.