Project | Integrated approach: reducing methane and ammonia emissions in livestock farming
Project information
In short- Start date: 01-01-2020
- End date: 31-12-2026
- Provider of finance: the Ministry of LVVN, LTO Noord, ZLTO en LLTB
- Programme leader: Elian Verscheijden
The Integrated Approach programme helps livestock farmers with practical solutions to reduce methane and ammonia emissions while making their farms future-proof.
Our approach
The Dutch livestock sector faces a multiple challenge. The Climate Agreement set ambitious targets to substantially reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, such as methane, and ammonia by 2030 and 2050. At the same time, operational management must remain healthy and profitable.
In recent years, the sector has already made great strides towards sustainability. Yet there are still many opportunities, especially if measures align well with practice and do not have negative effects on animal welfare, animal health, grazing or biodiversity.
With funding from the Ministry of LVVN, in 2020 Wageningen Livestock Research together with partners therefore launched the Integrated Approach research programme. The aim: to gain insight into effective, workable measures that will enable livestock farmers to adapt their businesses to climate and nitrogen challenges while strengthening their earnings model. The programme focuses mainly on dairy and pig farming, and on four lines: feed, animal, barn and manure.
The approach combines scientific research, pilots on the participating farms and active knowledge distribution. Government, industry, researchers and livestock farmers together test and refine new solutions. In this way, measures become practicable faster and can be widely applied. The programme builds on previous results of the Livestock & Climate study (2018-2020) and shows that further emission reductions towards 2030 are feasible.
Interim result
Dietary adjustments
Dietary adjustments: feeding lower protein levels, increasing grazing and feeding younger grass, and adding substances such as 3NOP and nitrate, as well as fats to the ration, result in methane reduction in cows. Various feeding measures are also being investigated for pigs
Breeding cows
Breeding cows with lower enteric emissions is possible and results in a significant reduction in methane
Daily manure removal
Daily manure removal combined with single-chamber digestion results in a significant reduction in methane emissions in both cows and pigs
Acidifying the manure
Acidifying the manure or the inoculum results in a significant reduction in methane emissions, as does methane oxidation. These measures are now being investigated further.
Why choose WUR?
The added value
We connect science, practice and policy.
• Independent, integrated research approach
• Measures that are immediately applicable
• Focus on climate and revenue model
• Strong network of farmers and chain partners
• Netwerk Praktijkbedrijven for dairy farmers and pig farmers
Do you have a question?
Do you also want to get started with an integrated approach? Get in touch with us!
