The Kepak Farm in Co. Meath is a 320ha beef farming operation with a yard capacity for 1,800 cattle, finishing 5,000 cattle/yr.
In recent times, the farm has been closely examining the carbon footprint from its beef-finishing operation and looking at ways that this can be reduced.
Agriland recently paid a visit to the farm to meet Kepak’s agricultural director Jonathan Forbes and head agri-business Mick O’Dowd, to find out more about the research taking place on the farm.
In the video below, Teagasc genetic researcher David Kelly explains how a device similar to a pregnancy scanner is used to get a cross-section view of a beef animal’s meat yield, with a focus on fat cover and marbling:
Kepak is a founding member of Meat Technology Ireland (MTI) and its’ farm has embarked on a research project in conjunction with the entity.
The senior principal investigator in quantitative genetics at Teagasc, Prof. Donagh Berry is the lead researcher on this project.
The goal of this project is to develop breeding strategies to reduce the carbon footprint associated with Irish beef cattle without compromising meat yield and quality.
This will be achieved by researching if there is a genetic link between animals and:
- Methane production (measured using Greenfeed technology, one of which is at the Kepak farm);
- Fitness to slaughter at a younger age (incorporating feed and water efficiency). This project will use ultrasound scanning to objectively identify when an animal is finished (based on fat cover). All cattle that are measured for methane on Kepak Farm will also be ultrasound scanned, as part of the research.
- Yield (more higher-value red meat for the same carcass weight);
- Kill out percentage (more carcass per same liveweight) which has environmental benefits without impacting on the eating quality and commercial value of beef.
As part of the research in association with MTI, cattle will be back-fat scanned via an ultrasound every six weeks in the run up to slaughter.
David explained: “A range of data will be collected to assemble a trajectory that will show how much muscle and fat is being put on by the animal and when is it hitting the minimum spec.”
“We want to find out what is the optimum time point pre-slaughter where that happens.”
This research aims to enable Lifecycle Carbon Footprint analysis of the national beef herd and according to Kepak, this project will be the first time a full life-cycle of beef cattle will be measured in Ireland.
Methane emissions are currently calculated using models based on work carried out in similar cool-temperate climates such as areas of France and New Zealand.
There is methane emission data coming from research in the Irish dairy sector suggesting up to 15% lower emission values for Irish cattle than those models indicate.
The research from the Kepak Farm will be published this year with regular interactions with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for inclusion in the national inventory models once the paper is peer-reviewed and can act as a source to defend methane emission values.
The observed lower methane emissions is particularly visible in early grazing due to high-quality grass.
If there is a genetic link that can influence carbon footprint, then the aim is for breeding indexes to include this trait enabling farmers to select sires (breeding bulls) predicted to have progeny (offspring) with lower emissions to breed with their stock.
The advantage of breeding is that it is a proven technology to deliver performance gains, cumulative and permanent, requires no change to day-to-day farm management practices incurring no additional costs, and has a 100% adoption rate.
GreenFeed machine in beef shed
Teagasc quantitative geneticist, Prof. Donagh Berry gave attendees an overview of the GreenFeed machine and what it aims to achieve.
He explained methane is a greenhouse gas that is produced by ruminants and contributes to 59.3% of the total agricultural greenhouse gases in Ireland.
“95% of the methane a cow produces comes out of their mouth,” he said.
According to the 2021 Irish national greenhouse gas inventory report, it is important that it is measured in a pasture-based system in order to ensure that appropriate methane measurements are included in the national inventory as well as identifying appropriate methane-reduction solutions.
Currently at Teagasc Moorepark, there are four GreenFeed machines that are being used to measure methane emissions on over 150 dairy cattle while animals graze.
The GreenFeed system is essentially a feed bin on a trailer that also has the capability to measure methane, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide (CO2).
Small amounts of concentrates (30g) are dispensed to the animal every 25 seconds while the animal’s head is inside the feed bin.
Ideally, an animal needs to have their head in the feed bin for at least two minutes, therefore the concentrate drops are spread out over a two-minute period to entice the animal to stay at the machine.
Each animal is electronically identified and their breath is sampled continuously while they are at the machine.
A sub-sample of the air exhaled by the cow is passed through various sensors while the cow is eating.
This information is then fed to a central database via the mobile network where various algorithms are used to generate useful information from the data.
Current studies in progress include the development of a methane profile across the year, evaluation of grass quality, evaluation of feeding strategies and the evaluation of animal breeds on methane production in Ireland’s pasture-based system.