Methane Facts

What is Methane?

• Methane is a naturally occurring greenhouse gas (GHG) released from wetlands, thawing permafrosts, active volcanoes, decomposition and ruminant digestion i.e. enteric methane. 
• Once released into the atmosphere, methane oxidises into carbon dioxide (CO₂) over approximately 12 years. This CO₂ can be reabsorbed by plants through photosynthesis if part of a balanced carbon cycle,
• Since industrialisation methane emissions are also produced from human activities such as landfills, fossil fuel extraction and  intensive agriculture where intensive livestock system manure storage represents a management related methane source. 
• Fossil fuels unlock carbon reservoirs, adding to atmospheric GHGs in much higher levels that plants are unable to re-absorb. (Fig.1)

Pasture for Life toolbox for mitigation

As pasture-fed systems are low-input, the mitigation strategies our farmers can employ are based around reducing their own reliance on fossil fuels and restoring the balance to become net sinks of carbon through the following practices:

1. Comprehensive reduction in fossil fuel reliance through operating a low input system (fertiliser, bought in feed and fuel).
2. Adaptive multi paddock grazing and appropriate carrying capacities: creating healthy soils and pasture to maximise carbon uptake through photosynthesis. 
3. Promote carbon draw down and sequestration: through permanent pasture and woodland/hedgerow planting and management.
4. Maximise outdoor grazing:  animal deposits decompose naturally into the soil, minimising manure management emissions
5. Promote diverse swards:  research indicates that tanniferous plants like plantain, willow, sainfoin, and bird’s-foot trefoil in pasture can reduce enteric methane emissions naturally.
6. Improve herd efficiency through breeding traits: select animals that have good fertility, efficient growth, that thrive on your pasture to lower methane emissions per unit of production.

Conventional toolbox for mitigation

There are a number of tools that are already either in use or in development. Whilst PfL do not collectively support them all, we recognise conventional supply chains and government policy  are seeing these as a way to mitigate methane. It is likely necessary that some combination of PfL and national mitigation strategies are required, most of which are beneficial to improving the resilience and efficiency of the sector overall.

1. Increasing lifetime production efficiency: maximizing the productivity of each animal over its lifetime can reduce methane emissions per unit of meat or milk, improving emissions intensity. However, this focus on efficiency is often also driving intensive  production systems that require reliance on high-emission production systems, potentially negating the benefits of reduced emissions per unit.
2. Genetically select for lower-emitting ruminants: with higher digestion efficiency, smaller rumens and reduced enteric fermentation.
3. Reducing societal ruminant meat and milk consumption, coupled with developing alternative proteins. This should of course be achieved through emphasizing the 'less and better' approach where we ensure the meat and milk we do eat is from regenerative, pasture fed systems, with higher nutritional value, that also offers additional ecosystem services.  
4. Improve manure management: Convert manure into biogas and capture methane from slurry storage, mitigating methane and providing renewable energy.