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 Greenhouse Gases and Animal Agriculture
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 Dr. Manju Wadhwa, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, India |
 Posters drew strong discussion |
To many people around the world, Banff, Alberta is the jewel of Canada's National Park chain and choice destination for a trip to Canada. So it was not surprising to see a number of delegates to the GGAA conference bring their families along for the week and book extra time to enjoy the beauty of the Rockies.
 Banff welcomes many international visitors |
 The Banff Park Lodge hosted the conference |
In the countdown toward GGAA 2010, we contacted several of the featured speakers in order to collect a flavour of the perspectives.
Here are a few questions and their responses:
Q: You have assessed the place of livestock on a "re-greening" earth. What is the gist of your perspective?
Humans and their livestock are intertwined to such an extent that their symbiosis will not likely soon be severed. Livestock offer many benefits to human society and they can help sustain the ecosystems of which they are a part. But that should not deter us from seeking even better ways of using livestock to steward the land on which we all depend.
In coming decades, researchers, in concert with practitioners and policymakers, will need to show creativity, imagination and courage to envision new ways of melding animals into our ecosystems, not only to minimize harm, but to advance their re-greening.
Q: Where do you see your research leading in terms of specific mitigation strategies?
A: Two types of opportunities for controlling rumen methanogens are emerging from the genomics work: small molecule inhibitors and vaccines.
In a process known as "chemogenomics," small molecule inhibitors are being investigated by screening target enzymes against libraries of chemical compounds, or alternatively by using protein structure information to model enzyme catalytic sites and designing small molecules that can fit into the catalytic site and act as enzyme inhibitors.
The best vaccine targets are proteins exposed on the surface of methanogen cells that are conserved among methanogens, mediate essential functions and whose activity are impaired by antibody binding. We are identifying such proteins using a combination of bioinformatic and immunological techniques and testing them in sheep.
Small molecule inhibitor are likely to be delivered to the rumen of grazing animals via slow release capsules or to housed animals via feed supplementation. Vaccines for ruminants have a long history of effective and safe use on farm, so an anti-methanogen vaccine would fit easily into current farm practices.
Q: What is the potential of dietary and farm management strategies?
A: Mitigation strategies need to be effective without lowering animal production. We have identified that there are dietary and farm management strategies that can be used right now that will reduce methane emissions without lowering animal production. It is important to ensure that there are no financial costs of adopting these strategies.
Adding lipids to the diets through oil or oilseeds is the most promising dietary strategy and our review has shown that a wide range of oils can be used to achieve a persistent reduction in emissions. Farm management strategies that maintain production while decreasing intake will result in more efficient systems of production and reduce methane emissions (because of the reduction in intake). These are other strategies such as improving genetic merit of livestock and improving herd fertility.
Research groups around the world are now well placed to make progress in reducing greenhouse gases from livestock and a lot of progress has already been made in identifying mitigation strategies. In addition, the techniques for assessing mitigation strategies are now much improved and this will result in faster research progress than was possible 10 to 15 years ago.
Dr. Frank O'Mara, a researcher with Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, provided some telling rankings and figures in his talk on the role of livestock in greenhouse gas emissions.
Among key areas of the world, Asia is the source of most enteric methane emissions, while Latin America, Africa, Western Europe and North America are also significant sources, he says. "These emissions are dominated by emissions from the cattle herd."
When total enteric emissions are compared to food production, to provide context for measuring efficiency, the four most efficient regions are Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and the non-EU former Soviet Union. O'Mara says one key assessment observed these regions together produced 46.1 percent of the world's ruminant meat and milk energy and only 25.5 percent of enteric methane emissions.
In comparison, the three least efficient producers – Asia, Africa and Latin America – produced an equivalent amount, 47.3 percent, of ruminant meat and milk energy and almost three times, 69 percent, as much enteric methane emissions.
Turning to greenhouse gas emissions from manure management, O'Mara observed that Asia, particularly China, Western Europe and North America are the regions with the greatest emissions.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, over half of the total methane emissions from this source come from monogastrics, with pigs by far the dominant species. FAO does not give a separate estimate of nitrous oxide emissions from manure management.
Aussies rule. Kiwis too. And we're not just talking football or rugby.
At GGAA 2010, one of the first things you notice when scanning the who's who of participants and sponsors are the strong contingents of Australians and New Zealanders.
That says something. The conference is truly international with, at last count, 39 different countries represented. The collection of participants poised at a record setting level of over 400 is diverse as well, yet the delegates from these two countries, along with host Canada, are proportionally the largest.
Call it the "Down Under factor" – one that will surely have a major impact on the conference success. For many involved with the GGAA scientific community, including conference committee representative Dr. Tim McAllister, this strong presence is no surprise.
"The New Zealanders and Australians are leaders in this area. In part, because they are very strong in animal agriculture and it is a major factor in their emissions goals. Most important though, they have been very progressive minded on this issue from the start. They have top scientists and are leaders in investing in research toward solutions in this area. The result of that is shown in the progress they will showcase at GGAA 2010."
For one example, McAllister cites a presentation led by Dr. Graeme Attwood as one he is particularly looking forward to. Attwood presents on the Thursday morning of the conference, on "Exploring rumen methanogen genomes to identify targets for methane mitigation strategies," which centres on progress at AgResearch in New Zealand and at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
"The presentation by Attwood shows some excellent work that has great potential as a breakthrough toward mitigation strategies," says McAllister. "We're fortunate there are a number of very strong presentations at this year's conference. This is just one of many of special interest that I have circled on my agenda."
Granular detail or big picture context?
Whatever your primary level of focus or interest, GGAA 2010 is a rich reservoir of information and perspective.
It's a broad spectrum that extends from the technical workshops on the opening day of the conference, to the big picture session that kicks-off the main proceedings, all the way to the wrap-up and Global Research Alliance components that complete the event.
"There's truly something for everyone at this conference," says Dr. Karen Beauchemin, one of the presenters who is also on the GGAA 2010 committee. "Whether you come at it from a very technical perspective or are more focused on what today's progress means at a high level, the GGAA conference is designed to provide both."
GGAA 2010 delegates can look forward to a program that offers the best of both worlds. Click here to view the program.
The conference combines discussion of science progress in the pipeline along with practical outcomes. It covers sspecific livestock production strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, as well as ideas related to industry benchmarks and mitigation targets. The opening session on the role of livestock production in greenhouse gas issue encompasses several keynotes, with presentations on the significance of livestock as a contributor, the role of livestock on a re-greening earth and the potential for livestock-based offsets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"There are different fields of science that need to come together to produce solutions," says Beauchemin. "As a GGAA conference committee, we want to deliver a program that showcases the detail of the challenges, opportunities and progress in each of these areas, along with the interpretation required to tie that information together."
All GGAA delegates will receive a copy of conference proceedings following the event. In addition, the conference committee is supporting a special communications effort to capture key information and get it to industry, media and other key information users and carriers. Learn more about the GGAA 2010 special communications effort here.
In a world where the term "sponsorship" is often interchangeable with "advertising" and self-promotion, it's encouraging to find a team of supporters for the GGAA 2010 conference that truly have one thing in mind above all else – leading-edge science progress.
Scan the list of GGAA 2010 sponsors to find organizations that not only have an interest in a successful conference but ones who are leaders and key organizations in the cause. Their home countries, constituencies and role in the core science are different, but all share a laser focus on championing solutions to an issue of great importance both to agriculture and the world.
"The sponsors are on board for a simple reason – they want to see real progress at this conference," says Dr. Sean McGinn, GGAA 2010 conference chair. "An issue of this complexity and scope requires the world of science coming together to drive solutions. An intensive, week-long conference with the key people in the relevant fields internationally is an excellent way to generate progress.
"The conference sponsors understand this. They're behind us. They've made it happen. And we're very fortunate."
For those attending the conference, please look out for representatives of the sponsor organizations and thank them for their support. In many cases, they will be easy to find - sponsors include several science organizations that are front and centre in the conference proceedings. Others have a lower profile in the actual conference agenda but have an equally critical role, as agricultural industry organizations that are showing invaluable leadership in making greenhouse gas mitigation a major priority for industry.
The fourth international GGAA conference is sponsored by:
With over 350 delegates now registered representing 39 different countries, the stage is set for a GGAA 2010 conference that will further position this event as a leading showcase of the latest science and thinking on this important topic from around the world.
Capturing the flavor of this event – everything from the leading-edge research, perspectives from top scientists and world-class surroundings of the Banff area – is the role of this "Inside GGAA" blog.
It's a timely, and at times hopefully fun part of the GGAA 2010 Special Meeting Report effort that we as Meristem editors are looking forward to. Watch this space regularly for updates from in and around the conference. We'll keep tabs on how plans are shaping up, visit with some of the key organizers and scientists leading up to the event, and deliver straight-from-the-conference news and notes once the proceedings are underway.
For delegates visiting Banff for the first time, you are in for a treat (see the pictures included in this post). It's a majestic setting, and a fitting one for a conference that aims to present some of the very best science and knowledge from the international community.
We'll see you in Banff, Oct. 3 to 8, 2010.
– the Meristem editors
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