Nutritional options for abatement of methane emissions from beef and dairy systems in Australia

Greenhouse gas emissions associated with ruminant livestock production, particularly methane and nitrous oxide, are a major contributor to Australia's national greenhouse gas emissions. Even though there are presently no financial signals to the livestock industries in Australia to reduce emissions, the beef and dairy industries are beginning to search for solutions. Through the abatement of greenhouse gases there is also an opportunity for the livestock industries to produce meat and milk more efficiently, and to demonstrate stewardship of the production environment. The development of viable livestock production systems with minimal undesirable environmental impacts will ensure that food production, quality of product and enterprise profitability are maintained. A range of nutritional and management options for abatement of enteric methane emissions are cited in the literature, however, the effectiveness of these options is yet to be critically evaluated. This paper considers approaches required to evaluate the effectiveness of options for the abatement of enteric methane emissions, and questions whether abatement of methane emissions from Australian beef and dairy industries is achievable with existing nutritional options.