Feeding to Reduce your Carbon Footprint

Abstract

Carbon footprint is a new area for dairy managers, veterinarians, environmentalists, and consumers. Government and industry groups have agreed to reduce the dairy carbon footprint by 20%. While controversy surrounds these discussions, it is a win-win situation for dairy producers and the environment. Dairy managers benefit by capturing more carbon as an energy source for their dairy cattle. An important concept is to express carbon footprint as the amount per unit of product (pounds of milk or milk solids). Three areas will be discussed in the presentation. Feed efficiency provides economic and viable comparisons, monitoring pounds of milk produced per pound of dry matter consumed. Feed efficiency can be calculated and evaluated using on-farm measured values to calculate an adjusted feed efficiency. Feeding strategies and rumen modifiers can reduce the level of methane reducing the dairy farm footprint. Dairy heifer feeding programs that reduce dry matter intake while maintaining growth and optimizing age at first calving can reduce their carbon footprint.