Biogenic methane (methane produced by animals and plants) is one of the predominant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions emitted from global agricultural, the majority of which originates from ruminant livestock as enteric or manure methane.
In the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) national inventory report for 2022, 74% of Irish agricultural GHG emissions were attributed to methane associated with ruminant livestock production – 65% from methane produced by the rumen of cattle and sheep and a further 9% from methane associated with the storage of manure and slurry from ruminants, as well as pigs.
As a result, reducing the volume of methane produced by ruminant livestock will be critical to achieving the agricultural sector's 2030 GHG emissions reduction target.
Although breeding animals which emit less methane is a long-term strategy, research is well under way at Teagasc Grange to identify genetics which produce less methane.
At BEEF 2026, some of the research findings to date were presented, showing that there is potential to reduce methane emissions in livestock through breeding.
The study compared the progeny of six different Angus AI sires. It found that the progeny of the bulls with higher dairy beef indexes (DBI) produced less methane emissions on average and had less feed intake on average.
However, although they produced more methane emissions on average, the progeny of the AI sires with lower DBI had heavier carcase weights on average.
It was worth noting that the progeny of the AI sire with the highest DBI had the lowest feed intake, whereas the progeny of the AI sire with the lowest DBI had the highest feed intake. There was no real difference in the age at finish between the low and high DBI sires.
In conclusion, there is potential to permanently and cumulatively reduce emissions in future generations of livestock through breeding.
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