New Zealand Should Look At Barns Like Those Used By European Farmers To Reduce Methane Emissions Associated With Meat And Milk Protein Production

New Zealand should look at barns like those used by European farmers to reduce methane emissions associated with meat and milk protein production. Climate Change Commission Chair Dr Rod Carr has suggested barn-feeding livestock as an example of a practice being used in Europe that leverages technology, a market that is important for New Zealand farmers. Rod Carr says while the country’s pastoral grazing practices provide some of the most efficient protein production in the world, technologies that enable lower-emissions farming are emerging. Some of these would be more or less difficult to adopt and farmers should be incentivised for practices that work for their businesses. He felt New Zealand could have a hybrid solution, and even if you only have the animal in a barn for four months of the year feeding on supplements that reduce their emissions by 80% during that period, it is still a 25% reduction in annual biogenic methane emissions.