Manipulating enteric methane emissions and animal performance of late-lactation dairy cows through concentrate supplementation at pasture

The objective of this study was to determine the potential of increased fiber-based concentrates to reduce methane (CH4) production in relation to milk yield from late-lactation dairy cows. The effect of 2 levels of concentrate supplementation (0.87 vs. 5.24 kg on a dry matter basis) on herbage voluntary intake, total dry matter intake, milk yield, milk composition, and CH4 production were determined by way of a randomized block designed grazing trial using lactating Holstein-Friesian cows ( 231 +/- 44 d in milk) grazing a mixed-grass sward with a regrowth aged 36 d. Increased concentrate supplementation resulted in a significant increase in total dry matter intake, milk yield, fat-corrected milk (FCM) yield, and daily CH4 production. However, herbage intake and milk composition were unaffected. Although daily CH4 production increased with fibrous concentrate use the increase was not as great as that observed for milk yield. The decline in CH4 production per kilogram of milk was nonsignificant; however, when relating CH4 production to FCM (FCM at 35 g of fat/kg of milk), a declining trend was identified within increasing concentrate supplementation (19.26 and 16.02 g of CH4/kg of FCM). These results suggest that increased fibrous concentrate use at pasture, even at modest levels, could reduce enteric CH4 production per kilogram of animal product. However, the effectiveness of such a strategy is dependent on the maintenance of production quotas and a subsequent decline in the number of livestock needed to fulfill the specified production level.