Sustainability & efficiency

International collaboration for mitigation of methane in Red Dairy Cattle through genetic selection

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Abstract

Reducing enteric methane (CH₄) emissions from dairy cattle is a shared national and international responsibility. Co-funded by the Global Methane Genetics (GMG) initiative, this project expands CH₄ data collection in Red Dairy Cattle (RDC) breeds, which are recognized for their genetic diversity, robust fertility, good health, and adaptability. Increasing methane measurements in these breeds will support both purebred and crossbred populations, contributing to broader sustainability and breeding goals worldwide. The GMG Red Dairy project is a collaboration among six countries-Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK)-and five distinct RDC breeds: Canadian Ayrshire, Red Danish, Finnish Ayrshire, Norwegian Red, and Swedish Red. Over three years, the project will generate approximately CH4 records for approximately 12,000 individual cows collected using 'sniffers' from Nordic RDC herds (average herd size: 82) and establish a framework for international CH₄ data exchange. Additionally, this project will generate a unique subset of records of paired CH₄ measurements from GreenFeed and sniffer systems collected on the same animals, enabling the assessment of correlations between the two measurement technologies. Building on existing CH₄ records from approximately 3,000 (Denmark), 2,000 (Finland), 3000 (Norway) and 200 (Canada) dairy cows - collected using a combination of sniffers, GreenFeed systems, and respiration chambers - and with Sweden soon contributing from seven additional sniffers, this project aims to: 1) Harmonize CH₄ data across major RDC populations and to expand the reference population, 2) Explore genetic links between distant populations, and identify associations between CH₄ traits and production, health, functional, and feed intake traits, 3) Conduct the first pilot joint genetic evaluation for CH₄ across RDC populations, focusing on the Viking Red and Norwegian Red breeds, 4) Accelerate the implementation of a genetic evaluation for reduced CH₄ production in RDC within the Nordic region and internationally.

Keywords: 2026

How to Cite:

Ask-Gullstrand, P., Bakke, K., Bjerring, M., Coffey, M., Heringstad, B., Klingström, T., Miglior, F., Negussie, E., Nyman, S., Ohlsson, I., Rius-Vilarrasa, E. & Villumsen, T., (2026) “International collaboration for mitigation of methane in Red Dairy Cattle through genetic selection”, World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production Digital Archive 2026(1): 2286451. doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/wcgalp.24012

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