Use of corn distillers’ dried grains to reduce enteric methane loss from beef cattle

Abstract

There are significant emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from agriculture, and a major source is enteric methane (CH 4 ) from ruminants. Our study reports the impact on enteric CH 4 emissions when barley grain (35% of the dietary dry matter (DM) was replaced by corn distillers’ dried grains with solubles (DDGS, adding 30 g fat kg -1 dietary DM) in the backgrounding diet of growing beef cattle. The addition of DDGS reduced CH 4 emissions (g d -1 ) by 19.9%, and by 16.4% when adjusted for DM intake [g (DM intake) -1 ] or by 23.9% when adjusted for gross energy (GE) intake (% of GE intake). Adding DDGS to cattle diets reduced CH 4 emissions, but the effects of higher N content of the manure on emissions of nitrous oxide and ammonia need to be accounted for to complete the evaluation of the environmental impact of feeding DDGS to feedlot cattle. Key words: Methane, beef cattle, corn distillers’ dried grains with solubles, lipid, greenhouse gas emissions, sulphur hexafluoride