Farmers and ranchers around the world face increased heatwaves, droughts and heavy rainfall, making it harder to grow livestock and crops. This means less financial security for farm families and, globally, bigger threats to people’s access to nutrition.
USDA Photo by Preston Keres
Reducing methane emissions, a climate super-pollutant, can lessen rates of warming within decades. Since livestock farming is one of the biggest emitters of that methane gas, with enteric methane from cow burps alone contributing about a third of all human-caused methane emissions each year, lowering it can have a big impact.
To reduce livestock emissions, we first have to know where we’re starting. That requires accurate and validated measurement, but measuring methane from livestock isn’t simple — how we do it matters. These are the most important considerations.
