Seasonal effect on feed intake and methane emissions of cow–calf systems on native grassland with variable herbage allowance

Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure methane emissions (CH4) and herbage intake, and, on the basis of these results, obtain the methane yield (MY, methane yield as g CH4/kg dry matter intake (DMI) and Ym, methane yield as a percentage of Gross Energy intake), from beef cows grazing on native grasslands. We used forty pregnant heifers, with two treatments of herbage allowance (HA) adjusted seasonally (8 and 5 kg dry matter (DM)/kg cattle live weight (LW), on average), during autumn, winter and spring. Methane emissions (207 g CH4/d), organic matter intake (OMI, 7.7 kg organic matter (OM)/d), MY (23.6 g CH4/kg DMI) and Ym (7.4%), were similar between treatments. On the other hand, all variables had a marked increase in spring (10.8 kg OM/d and 312 g CH4/d), except for Ym. The methane emission factor from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Tier 2 estimated with these results was 78 kg CH4/head/year. The results show that methane emissions and intake were influenced by the season, but not by the HA analyzed in this study. This information for cow–calf systems in native grasslands in Uruguay can be used in National greenhouse gases (GHG) inventories, representing a relevant contribution to global GHG inventories.