Perdue Animal Nutrition is collaborating with Cornell University on a sustainability initiative funded by the California Department of Food and Agriculture to determine the effect of fatty acids on methane emissions. Decreasing methane is a core sustainability initiative proposed for the dairy industry in the last few years, and this grant is the first official sustainability initiative for Perdue Animal Nutrition. This grant is led by Dr. Joe McFadden and a group of other scientists from Cornell University.
Methane is an important greenhouse gas that can contribute to global warming. Production of beef and dairy cows can add to methane emission since this gas is naturally produced during the digestion process. In this study, we explore the importance of the fatty acid profile of diets to optimize animal performance and profitability. Determining the effects of these individual fatty acids on methane will help us better understand what fatty acids are most effective, and what dietary conditions or environmental conditions may work better.