A new feed conversion efficiency and methane testing facility run by Pāmu Farms. Photo: Pamu
State owned farming company Pāmu has welcomed the first cohort of heifers into its new methane testing facility.
The large shed on Pāmu's St Kilda farm near Taupō will test which cattle are the most efficient converters of feed into growth - as well as which ones emit less methane.
It will also enable testing of different methane mitigation technologies on their path to commercialisation.
Pāmu chief executive Mark Leslie said the facility is an important step forward.
"If we can measure, then we can manage and implement low-methane breeding programmes for New Zealand livestock.
"This, in turn, ensures more low-emission beef and dairy-beef genetics are available for the agricultural sector, contributing to Aotearoa New Zealand meeting its international commitments to reducing greenhouse gases."
The work, supported by Pāmu subsidiary Focus Genetics, helped fill the gap in low methane breeding nationally, as referred to in a recent report by the Climate Change Commission, Leslie said.
"The report cited while work was well underway in the dairy sector there was not enough evidence that low methane breeding for beef cattle would be available for the next contribution period which is 2031-2035," he said.
Pāmu is hosting an open day at St Kilda for farmers interested in the work in February.
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