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Milking time - Source: ONE News
Australian scientists plan to produce methane-reducing clover and milk-enhancing grass as part of a multi-million-dollar boost to dairy research.
The new Dairy Futures Cooperative Research Centre in Melbourne will unlock the best milk-producing cattle genes as well as deliver a new variety of genetically modified white clover which will mean cattle that eat it will expel less methane.
They also hope to create a variety of grass that will lift milk production.
The multi-million dollar centre, which will receive more than $80 million in state and federal government funding, is expected to be fully operational by January next year.
Victorian Premier John Brumby says the new clovers will cut cattle methane emissions by 20%.
"If you think 10 years up the road when there is a carbon price all around the world, when agriculture is included in emissions trading schemes, if you can reduce the level of methane being exhaled by dairy cattle by 20 per cent, then you are making a great contribution to the environment," he says.
Brumby says while he supports the federal government's move not to include agriculture in its current emissions trading design, the industry will inevitably be part of a scheme in the future.
The centre's chief scientist, German Spangenberg, says the Australian dairy industry accounts for 2% of national greenhouse gas emissions.
"For every litre of milk that we produce, we generate one kilogram of CO2," he says.
A genetically modified sweet rye grass, high in fructose, is also in development, which the premier says the grass could lead to a 25% productivity gain.
"The cattle like eating it, they put on more weight, they produce more milk, they drive the productivity improvements," he says.
The new clover and grass varieties will be implemented on farms between 2013 and 2015.
Scientists will also test gene types in bulls to find which genes lead to their female offspring producing the most milk.
"It has the potential to add something like $A2.7 billion of additional efficiency benefits to the industry over a 30-year period," Brumby says.
The premier says the government has no choice but to invest in dairy innovation, which will deliver greater efficiencies and help local farmers remain competitive with heavily subsidised overseas producers.
