NEOWAS Operational Group: Measuring individual farm methane emissions toward decarbonization of Spanish dairy cattle by 2050
- Type Operational group
- Execution 2022 -2025
- Assigned Budget 249.910,69 €
- Scope Supraautonómico
- Autonomous community Andalucía; Aragón; Asturias, Principado de; Balears, Illes; Cantabria; Castilla y León; Castilla - La Mancha; Cataluña; Comunitat Valenciana; Extremadura; Galicia; Madrid, Comunidad de; Navarra, Comunidad Foral de; País Vasco
- Main source of financing CAP 2014-2020
- Project website https://www.revistafrisona.com/GO_NEOWAS
The measurement of GHG emissions in individual cows on dairy farms and its relationship with production, functionality and genetics of the animals will allow the selection of animals that are more efficient in the use of feed and with lower GHG emissions. The GO_NEOWAS project will have a measuring device on farms with a milking robot, will collect all possible additional information from the animals with emissions data, will obtain a biological sample and will determine their genotype, in order to establish the prediction equations of genetic value for the traits related to GHG emissions. These results will allow Spanish artificial insemination centers and dairy cattle farmers to select the most desirable animals in the following generations.
Following the first phase of the project, a list of farms where the equipment could be installed was compiled, and the most suitable farms were contacted, with whom collaboration was agreed upon, and a work schedule was designed. New equipment was purchased, installed, and put into operation. Samples were also collected, and all cows with previous methane data were genotyped, as well as the first cows whose data were collected within this phase. At the outreach level, project information and identification materials were designed, several project presentation activities were held at national and European technical talks, a video about the project was published and disseminated, and the project was disseminated in various specialized media. All project activity was recorded on the project website. The most important practical recommendations of this phase are the importance of carefully selecting farms that must collaborate in equipment maintenance and must provide part of the ration to the robot with pellets that do not produce many fines, and verifying the correct identification of the animals in the robot software.
Following the second phase of the project, a list of farms where the equipment could be installed was compiled, and the most suitable farms were contacted, with whom collaboration agreements were reached, and a work schedule was designed. The NEIKER and CONAFE teams were able to work at full capacity. Samples were also collected, and cows were genotyped using methane data collected during phases 1 and 2. At the outreach level, the project's progress was presented at various national technical talks and disseminated in various specialized media. All project activity was reported on the project website. The most important practical recommendations of this phase are the importance of carefully selecting farms that must collaborate in equipment maintenance and must supply a portion of the ration to the robot with pellets that do not produce many fines, and verifying correct animal identification in the robot's software. In this phase, data monitoring was improved with the development of an application that allows real-time control of the information generated by the equipment.
In the third phase of the project, farm emission data collection was completed using both NEIKER and CONAFE equipment. Once the information from each farm was processed, the emissions associated with each milking and cow were obtained. Weekly averages, which are the phenotypes used, were then obtained using the methodology developed by INIA. With this information, phenotypic reports were designed for farmers, showing the differences between animals on their farm and comparing them with the rest of the population. These reports were hosted on the project's visualization platform. Samples have also been collected, and cows with methane data have been genotyped at XENETICA FONTAO. Finally, through the collaboration between INIA and CONAFE, the necessary genetic and genomic analyses have been performed to implement genomic emission assessments, which have been included in the breed's breeding program as a new trait. Based on the estimation of its economic weight, it has also been possible to include it in the selection indices. Finally, INIA has updated the methodology for obtaining Tier 3 equations, which allow quantifying emissions per farm with the highest level of detail and precision currently possible, including measurements of direct emissions per animal. At the outreach level, the project results have been presented in various technical talks nationwide, highlighting the project completion day held in February 2025, and the project has been disseminated in various specialized media. All project activity has been recorded on the project website. The most important practical recommendations of this phase are the importance of reporting phenotypic information collected to collaborating farms, as well as the use of new evaluations in decision-making.
The goal is to contribute to the decarbonization of dairy cattle in Spain by reducing methane emissions from enteric fermentation during feed digestion. The inclusion of new on-farm methane and carbon dioxide emission measurement technologies will allow farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting energy losses for their animals, lowering their feed costs. This involves modernizing and modernizing the collection of new on-farm data, which is key to the sustainable development of the activity.
The overall objective of the project will have a direct impact on improving the economic results of all farms through the implementation of management measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions on the farm, creating a product with greater added value due to a lower environmental impact. This reduction will lead to increased energy efficiency and a reduction in farm supplementation costs, the main cost of livestock farming. Including methane emission reduction in the genetic improvement program and sire evaluation will allow the dissemination of favorable genetics for these traits and increase economic viability for the rest of the population not participating in the project. Successful completion of the project will enable the digitization of information related to methane emissions. The reduction in environmental impact will add value to the final product through improved farm management and the use of animals selected for greater energy efficiency.
At the national level, the expected impacts on the sector will be:
- The rest of CONAFE's collaborating livestock farmers will benefit from the knowledge acquired through this project, the genetic and genomic evaluations of their animals, and the possibility of using animals selected with these new traits in mind.
- Non-cooperative livestock farmers for the opportunity to acquire selected genetic material based on new health traits.
- Dairy industry for improving the quality of its product image.
- Consumers will be able to purchase dairy products produced on environmentally responsible farms.
- Identification and selection of farms with the best track record in collecting phenotypic data and the greatest interest in using the information generated on the farm.
- Analysis of phenotypic information on farm methane emissions, report design and development of a web platform for information retrieval, environmental impact indicators for dairy cattle farms, genotyping of animals with collected phenotypes, and design of strategies for disseminating favorable genes throughout the population.
- Set of Tier 3 type equations for each of the productive systems evaluated.
Project outcome 1 is called "Project Implementation and Monitoring," which includes activities related to coordination among the requesting members of the project's activities, project management, including modifications made throughout the project, and auditing payment requests. During coordination meetings, it is important that all participants in the operational group are informed of the project's progress, both in the activities in which they are directly involved and in the rest of the project. This project has seen changes in the regulations regarding project justification over the different periods, so a significant portion of the coordination time has been devoted to reviewing the regulations and adapting documents, posters, and other justification materials to the newly issued regulations. In conclusion, we believe that in this type of project, it is important to properly quantify these items in terms of hours employed, considering all the personnel required for proper management, especially the justification section and the possibility of even facing additional audits with a very high cost in terms of labor hours.
Project outcome 2 is called "Identification and selection of farms with the best track record in collecting phenotypic data and the greatest interest in using the information generated on-farm." Based on prior information on the quality of the additional information provided by the different farms in the breeding program and their willingness to collaborate on the project, the different members of the project selected the farms to be included. To obtain this outcome, it was necessary to adapt to the specific requirements of the project, since the measuring equipment can only be installed on farms with milking robots. Within these, not all models can adapt the probe, and the type and quantity of pellets used also affect the performance of the equipment. Finally, the environmental conditions, since excessive humidity negatively affects the operation of the equipment. The main recommendation after completing the project when gathering information would be to first understand the milking equipment and farm pen organization. It is important to always keep in mind the need to provide comprehensive information that allows for quick and effective analysis and decision-making by the interested party.
Project Outcome 3 is the Acquisition of measuring equipment, which includes the purchase of the various components, the assembly of the equipment by the technician who developed this methodology with NEIKER, and finally its installation at the facility. This Outcome is the result of prior work carried out on the project itself, although improvements have been incorporated based on accumulated experience. We have even collaborated with other initiatives, sharing the acquired knowledge so they can assemble their own equipment. The main recommendation we can draw from this section is the need to establish collaborative networks between industry and research that result in mutual benefits for both.
Project outcome 4 is titled "Design and planning of the on-farm information collection schedule and protocol and data collection" and includes activities related to sampling methane emissions from sniffers on commercial farms. In addition to the problems inherent to on-farm data collection, the main difficulty encountered was managing the logistics required to ship the equipment from one farm to another. Due to their volume, they had to be transported on pallets. The location of the farms outside urban centers and the usual routes of express transport companies made this movement very difficult. This movement also had to be coordinated with the farm's routine work and the installers' schedules. After each data collection period, it is important to extract the various necessary sources of information, such as the emissions themselves, robot traffic, milk monitoring data, and the installer's report, in order to reconcile and verify the rest of the information.
Outcome 5 was called "New modular management tool that incorporates relational database concepts for data processing and appropriate exploitation." Analysis of phenotypic information on farm methane emissions, report design and information visualization, and development of a web platform for dynamic and interactive consultation of the information. Environmental impact indicators for dairy cattle farms. Includes activities related to the processing of the collected information. Validation and analysis, report design, and presentation through the platform. This result is the first feedback the farmer will receive regarding the data collected on their farm and would firstly allow them to understand the actual situation on the farm based on their own data and, secondly, demonstrate that farm-level treatment is insufficient, given the significant differences between animals. This level of detail is critical for the improvement program.
Result 6 includes one of the budget items related to "Genotyping of Animals with Collected Phenotypes" The fundamental objective is for the animals for which data have been collected, both regarding health and animal welfare, to have, in addition to the genealogical information that allows a genetic link to be established between them and the information collected in the breeding program, the genotyping of said animals. The activities included were sample collection, sample management, and the laboratory process, which includes, in the first phase, DNA extraction and, subsequently, obtaining the genetic markers included in the genotyping chip. Thanks to this genomic information, the genealogy is verified in the first step, including its correction in case of errors. This improves the quality of the information collected for genetic analysis, as it is correctly linked to the animals that generated it and their relatives. Subsequently, the direct link between the genotype and the data allows for estimating the effect that each region of the genome has on each of the analyzed traits and, in this way, obtaining, on the one hand, a more precise evaluation of the sampled animals and, on the other, evaluating animals without data in a more precise manner than that allowed by genealogy alone.
He Project result 7 is called "Design of strategies for the dissemination of favorable genes in the population" which It includes the work that gives rise to the benefits declared in the analysis of result 7 regarding the genetic evaluation of the traits collected from the collaboration between INIA and CONAFE. The genetic and genomic analyses necessary to implement genomic evaluations of emissions have been carried out, which have been included in the breeding program of the breed as a new trait. Based on the estimation of its economic weight, it has also been possible to include it in the selection indices.
Project outcome 8 is called the Tier 3 Equation Set for each of the evaluated production systems. INIA has updated its methodology for obtaining Tier 3 Equations, which allow quantifying emissions per farm with the highest level of detail and precision currently possible, including direct emission measurements per animal. A calculation method was developed that uses methane concentration measurements from methane sniffers to estimate methane production in grams/day. The method is based on the estimate of CO2 production in each comparison group (i.e., group-herd-year-week). The estimate of CO2 production for each cow in the comparison group can be estimated using different methodologies (e.g., Pedersen et al. 2008; Lee et al. 2022). In this study, the method proposed by Pedersen et al. was used. (2008), which has been widely used to convert ppm from ag/d sniffers in dairy cattle.
- Coordinator/entity name: CONAFE
- Coordinator/entity email: sofia.alday@conafe.com
- Aberekin SA
- Organización interprofesional láctea (INLACINLAC)
- Confederación de Asociaciónes de frisona española (CONAFE)
- Asturiana de control lechero sociedad cooperativa (ASCOL)
- Federación frisona de Castilla y León (FEFRICALE)
- Xenetica Fontao SA
- Instituto nacional de investigación y tecnología agraria y alimentaria (INIA)
- Agencia estatal Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
- Instituto vasco de investigación y desarrollo agrario (NEIKER)
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