Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17684
Title: Methane emissions and feeding behaviour of feedlot cattle supplemented with nitrate or urea
Contributor(s): Velazco, Jose Ignacio (author); Cottle, David  (author)orcid ; Hegarty, Roger  (author)
Publication Date: 2014
DOI: 10.1071/an14345
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/17684
Abstract: Nitrate may serve as a non-protein nitrogen (NPN) source in ruminant diets while also reducing enteric methane emissions. A study was undertaken to quantify methane emissions of cattle when nitrate replaced urea in a high concentrate diet. Twenty Angus steers were allocated to two treatment groups and acclimated to one of two iso-energetic and iso-nitrogenous finisher rations (containing NPN as urea or as calcium nitrate), with all individual feeding events recorded. A single methane measurement device (C-lock Inc., Rapid City, SD, USA) was exchanged weekly between treatments (2 × 1-week periods per treatment) to provide estimations of daily methane production (DMP; gCH 4/day). A 17% reduction in estimated DMP (P ≤ 0.071) resulted from nitrate feeding, attributed to both a tendency for reduced dry matter intake (DMI; P ≤ 0.088) and H2 capture by the consumed nitrate. NO3-fed cattle consumed a larger number of meals (14.69 vs 7.39 meals/day; P < 0.05) of smaller size (0.770 vs 1.820 kg/meal) each day, so the average interval between a feeding event and methane measurement was less in NO3-fed cattle (3.44 vs 5.15 h; P < 0.05). This difference could potentially have skewed the estimated DMP and contributed to the tendency (P ≤ 0.06) for NO3-fed cattle to have a higher methane yield (gCH4/kg DMI) than urea-fed cattle. This study found short-term methane emission measurements made over 2 weeks (per treatment group) were adequate to show dietary nitrate tended to reduce emission and change the feeding pattern of feedlot cattle. Changes in feeding frequency may have confounded the ability of short-term methane measurements to provide data suitable for accurately estimating methane per unit feed intake.
Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Animal Production Science, 54(10), p. 1737-1740
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Place of Publication: Australia
ISSN: 1836-5787
1836-0939
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 070203 Animal Management
070204 Animal Nutrition
Fields of Research (FoR) 2020: 300302 Animal management
300303 Animal nutrition
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 830301 Beef Cattle
970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2020: 100401 Beef cattle
280102 Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

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