Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Twitter LinkedIn
    • FREE Email Newsletters
    • About Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    Twitter LinkedIn
    Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    • News
      • Arable & Agronomy
      • Dealership News
      • Environmental Land Management Scheme/Policy
      • Event News
      • Health & Safety
      • Machinery
      • People
      • World News
    • Farm Machinery
      • Amenity & Maintenance
      • Cultivations
      • Drilling
      • Grassland Equipment
      • Harvesting
      • Muck & Slurry
      • Sprayers
      • Telehandlers
      • Tractors
      • Tractor of the Year
      • Tyres & Tracks
      • Whatever happened to?
    • Precision Farming
    • Markets & Policy
    • Profiles
      • National Arable and Grassland Awards
      • Company Profiles
      • Reader Profiles
    • Livestock
      • Beef
      • Dairy
      • Sheep
    • Magazines
      1. June 2025 issue
      2. May 2025 issue
      3. April 2025 issue
      4. March 2025 issue
      5. 2025 Tyre Developments supplement
      6. February 2025 issue
      7. National Arable and Grassland Awards supplement
      8. January 2025 issue
      9. December 2024 issue
      10. November 2024 issue
      11. October 2024 issue
      12. September 2024 issue
      13. August 2024 Issue
      14. 2024 Drills and Seeds supplement
      15. July 2024 Issue
      16. Cereals Supplement
      17. June 2024 Issue
      18. May 2024 Issue
      19. April 2024 Issue
      20. Tyres and Tracks Supplement
      21. March 2024 Issue
      22. National Arable & Grassland Award – Meet the Finalists
      23. February 2024 Issue
      24. January 2024 Issue
      25. December 2023
      26. Agritechnica Preview Supplement
      27. November 2023
      28. October 2023
      Featured

      June 2025 issue available now

      By Matthew TiltJune 2, 2025
      Recent

      June 2025 issue available now

      June 2, 2025

      May 2025 issue available now

      May 1, 2025

      April 2025 issue available now

      April 1, 2025
    • Events
    • Podcast
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer
    Beef

    Innovation offers positive solution to red meat emissions

    chrislyddonBy chrislyddonDecember 10, 20153 Mins Read
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

    Modern varieties of ryegrass, proven to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, offer the farming industry a significant opportunity to respond positively to one of the key issues debated at the UN COP 21 conference – cutting red meat consumption.

    Paul Billings, Managing Director of Germinal GB, points to over thirty years of innovative plant breeding at IBERS Aberystwyth University that has led to the widespread availability of the award winning Aber High Sugar Grass perennial and hybrid ryegrass varieties.

    “Independent research, partly funded by government, shows that these ryegrasses, bred with higher water soluble carbohydrate content, reduce the environmental impact of ruminant livestock,” he says. “Studies have demonstrated that lambs grazing Aber High Sugar Grass released 20% less methane per kilogram of liveweight gain than lambs on a standard ryegrass. This is significant, not least because livestock are believed to account for approximately 37% of all methane emissions.”

    “Similarly, in zero grazing trials with cattle undertaken at IBERS, the amount of feed nitrogen lost in the urine was reduced by up to 24% from animals fed the Aber High Sugar Grass variety. This lost nitrogen has the potential to convert to nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas with at least 250 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. So, by grazing or ensiling these modern ryegrasses with higher water soluble carbohydrate content, rumen efficiency can be improved in a completely natural way. This results in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

    “As an industry, we have a real opportunity to cut greenhouse gas emissions and at the same time improve the efficiency and productivity of ruminant livestock businesses. The technology is available now and there is huge potential simply by reseeding with the best available grass varieties.”

    Germinal have been forward thinking in their approach to these ground breaking and award winning products. The breeding programme that has created these ryegrasses began in Aberystwyth in the early 1980s, producing the first Aber High Sugar Grass for commercial sale in 2000. This variety, AberDart, won the NIAB Variety Cup in 2003 for its outstanding contribution to crop productivity through improved quality, disease resistance, grower return or commercial success. There have since been six further major industry awards recognising the contribution of this breeding programme to farming and the environment.

    Amongst the latest work to be carried out at IBERS is a project, funded through Innovate UK, to improve seed yield from these varieties. This is resulting in increased availability to meet global demand for seed of these ryegrass varieties.

    Tweet
    Share
    Share
    Pin
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
    Previous ArticleUse maintenance fertiliser P applications to get immediate grass response
    Next Article Landini steps on the power with extended choice of mid-range tractors
    chrislyddon

    Read Similar Stories

    Hi-Spec to introduce new diet feeder at Royal Highland

    June 16, 2025

    Livestock ban from Hungary and Slovakia after confirmed foot and mouth case

    March 10, 2025

    Campaign launched to battle against bluetongue

    March 5, 2025
    Most Read Stories

    ADR UK to bring Tianli tyres into UK

    June 16, 2025

    Delinked payments to be cut significantly over the next two years

    June 16, 2025

    Mzuri closes down UK production

    June 16, 2025
    Farm Contractor & Large Scale Farmer

    The UK's leading agricultural machinery journal

    Twitter LinkedIn
    © 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

    Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

    • Farmers Weekly
    • AA Farmer
    • Poultry News
    • Pig World

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.