I’m fed up with talking about the weather, but I can console myself with the fact we have grabbed every opportunity so far and progress is not too bad.US to slash dairy cow emissions by 25%
THE US dairy industry has committed to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent over the next decade.
Speaking at UN climate talks in Copenhagen this week, Tom Vilsack, US Agriculture Secretary, said agriculture, which contributes around 18 per cent of global emissions, had a ‘duty’ to reduce its impact.
He said anaerobic digestion (AD) would be central to achieve the ambitious target for dairy producers.
“We know AD represents a powerful renewable resource to create electricity from animal manure where a 700-head dairy herd can power 200 homes with electricity.
“But unfortunately only 2 per cent of farms are utilising this power today,” he said.
Mr Vilsack said only 150 AD plants had been funded by the US Department of Agriculture to date and pledged to reverse the trend.
The USDA plans to fund a major marketing scheme to sell AD to dairymen and the Department will then assist farmers through grant and loan programmes.
Mr Vilsack said the creation of electricity from manure was a ‘win-win’ situation.
“Not only can we mitigate climate change but we can also provide immediate local environmental benefits, reduce US dependence on fossil fuels, and provide a new economic stimulus for the rural economy,” he said.
There are about 9 million dairy cows in the US on more than 60,000 farms giving an average herd size of 135 cows, according to Dairy Farming Today, a US industry group. But critics fear AD is not appropriate for the majority of US dairy farms (77 per cent) that have less than 100 cows.
In Europe Germany is the AD trail blazer, boasting over 1000 anaerobic digesters compared to mere double figures in the UK.
Last year, however, the UK dairy industry launched its Milk Road Map which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by between 20 and 30 per cent by 2020 - like in the United States, AD is a key aspect of the plan.
There are 1.9 million dairy cows in the UK on just under 17,000 farms and Defra has an aspiration to have 1,000 on-farm AD plants in operation within the decade to help reduce emissions.
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