New Zealand is testing ways to make cows climate-friendly: What it means

New Zealand is turning its cattle farms into a testing ground for technologies that could reduce one of agriculture's biggest climate challenges: methane from livestock

New Zealand is testing new technologies to reduce methane emissions from cattle without affecting milk or meat production. According to a Bloomberg report, the country is trying a mix of solutions, including feed additives, slow-release capsules, vaccines and selective breeding.

 

If these methods work at scale, they could offer a model for other livestock-producing countries, including India.

Why are cows part of the climate conversation?

Cows, sheep and goats belong to a group of animals known as ruminants. As they digest grass and other fibrous feed, microbes inside their stomach produce methane. Most of this gas leaves the animal through burping.

 

 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), around 600 million tonnes of methane is released into the atmosphere every year.

 

About 60 per cent comes from human activities, with agriculture contributing nearly half of anthropogenic methane emissions. Livestock is among the sector's largest sources because of enteric fermentation, the digestive process in ruminants, and manure management.

 

The World Bank, in its report on methane emissions from livestock production, said methane is responsible for around 30 per cent of global warming since the pre-industrial era. Although it remains in the atmosphere for a much shorter period than carbon dioxide, it traps far more heat over the short term, which makes methane reduction one of the quickest ways to slow warming.

What is New Zealand testing?

New Zealand's livestock sector is central to its economy, and agriculture accounts for a much larger share of national greenhouse gas emissions than it does in many developed countries. That has made methane reduction a priority.

 

According to the Bloomberg report, researchers are testing several approaches simultaneously. One involves feed additives that alter digestion inside the animal so that less methane is produced. Another uses a slow-release capsule placed in a cow's stomach. The capsule gradually releases compounds that suppress methane-producing microbes.

 

Scientists are also developing vaccines aimed at reducing methane-producing microorganisms in the rumen, the first chamber of a cow's stomach. Alongside these technologies, researchers are breeding cattle that naturally produce lower methane emissions.

 

The Bloomberg report says Auckland-based Ruminant BioTech is awaiting regulatory approval for its methane-suppressing capsule. Research carried out by the company indicates the technology could reduce emissions per animal by as much as 70 per cent. Other feed-based approaches under development are also targeting substantial emission cuts.

 

"We need to be doing things and we are doing things. That's why we exist, to enable farmers to take action as opposed to just talking about it," Bloomberg quoted AgriZeroNZ chief executive Wayne McNee as saying.

 

"Last year, the government set a less ambitious methane reduction target of 14 per cent to 24 per cent below 2017 levels by 2050, down from a previous aim of a 24 per cent to 47 per cent reduction," he added.

Why does it matter beyond New Zealand?

Researchers see New Zealand as an important test case because any technology that succeeds there could be adopted in other livestock-producing countries, the report said.

 

The World Bank, in its report, also said that improving feeding practices, genetic improvement, dietary management and other production techniques can reduce methane emissions without lowering livestock productivity.

What is the situation in India?

India has the world's largest livestock population, which makes methane from livestock an important part of the country's emissions profile.

 

According to a 2024 study titled ‘Assessment and Quantification of Methane Emission from Indian Livestock and Manure Management’, enteric fermentation produced 11.63 teragrams (Tg) of methane in India in 2019. Manure management contributed another 1.11 Tg, taking total methane emissions from the livestock sector to 12.74 Tg.

 

The study said India has the world's largest livestock population and that changing livestock population patterns influence methane emissions across rural districts. It also added that district-level emission maps can help identify hotspots and support policies aimed at reducing methane emissions.