Mitigating methane (CH4) emissions from beef cattle

Publication date: 17-09-2026
Extent: 38 pages

Contributions by: Carol-Anne Duthie, Gemma Miller and Rainer Roehe, Beef and Sheep Research Centre – Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), UK

Chapter synopsis:

Beef is an important agricultural commodity and remains central to many consumers in both developed and developing countries. However, with around 1.6 billion cattle and calves globally, cattle are the single largest contributor to agricultural methane emissions. It is imperative that solutions to reduce these emissions are supported by a robust evidence-base and presented to the market in forms that can be easily adopted by farmers and that are acceptable to consumers. This chapter focusses on opportunities to mitigate enteric methane emissions from beef production through genetic improvement, nutritional manipulation including development and adoption of novel feed additives specifically designed for methane reduction, and indirectly through adoption of precision livestock farming tools.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2025.0169.09