TheBeefSite Newsletter - 5 April 2011

TheBeefSite Weekly Newsletter

Wednesday 6th April 2011

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Welcome to this week's newsletter

Editorial: UK Beef Industry Addresses Climate Change

The European Commission has reaffirmed that cutting red meat consumption is not an effective way to tackle climate change.

A representative of the Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development emphasised that EU policy promotes healthy diets and has legislation to ensure food safety, but it has no role in dictating what people should eat.

Research published by the EU’s Joint Research Centre of the European Commission earlier this year showed that the emissions from livestock were estimated to be responsible for around 9.1 per cent of all emissions in the Union – half of the much debated and oft-quoted figure for global agricultural emissions in the FAO Livestock’s Long Shadow report of 2006.

Earlier this week, the UK agricultural industry launched a joint Greenhouse Gas Action Plan (GHGAP) setting out how the industry will reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by three million tonnes of CO2 equivalents from 2018-2022 without compromising domestic production.

Changing the diet of cows and sheep could reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, according to new research funded by the UK's Department of Food and Rural Affairs.

The study, which aims to help farmers cut their contribution to climate change, shows that giving these animals feeds such as maize silage, naked oats and higher-sugar grasses can reduce the amount of methane they produce.

UK Agriculture Minister Jim Paice said: “We are committed to supporting the farming industry as it faces the challenge of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. It is very exciting that this new research has discovered that by simply changing the way we feed farm animals we have the potential to make a big difference to the environment.”

Charlotte Johnston

This Week's Feature Articles

We have 4 new features this week:

Fighting Brucellosis In Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has been fighting an epidemic of brucellosis for over 10 years. Significant progress has been made in this time, however there is a minority who persist in spreading the disease for financial gain, reports Charlotte Johnston, TheCattleSite Editor.

XL Vets Best Practice Article: Maintaining A Tight Calving Pattern In Suckler Herds
It's important to have a tight calving pattern in most herds for a number of reasons, according to XL Vets.

Grasses For The Future
Dr Michael Casler, United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service, summarises the main points from the international conference ‘Perennial ryegrasses: current and future genetic potential’, which took place last October, at Teagasc, Ireland.

Protecting UK Livestock From The Threat Of Viral Disease
The successes in disease control and future challenges were discussed at a meeting organised by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Institute for Animal Health (IAH) in London on 17 March, writes Jackie Linden, Senior Editor of TheCattleSite.