Diagnostic tests for greenhouse gas production
Author: Professor Richard Dewhurst
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Executive summary
The starting point for this project was the difficulty of existing techniques for measuring emissions of methane and urinary nitrogen (nitrous oxide precursor) from animals. The methodological difficulties are particular problems when working with free-grazing animals, which are the norm in New Zealand.
There are a number of broad approaches that are being used to address greenhouse gas issues, including plant breeding, animal breeding and animal nutrition. However, in each case, the rate of progress is restricted by our inability to make accurate measurements using individual animals.
This project explored the potential for diagnostic measurements using readily accessible samples to provide indices of both methane production and N-use efficiency (NUE) for individual cows and herds. Our objective was to complete feasibility studies by June 2008 using existing samples.
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