LETHBRIDGE, Alberta – The Canadian government announced an investment of $1.1 million toward research aimed at reducing methane gas emissions in cattle.

The Univ. of Lethbridge will lead the project, which will examine whether the use of biochar, a feed supplement, in beef cattle diets improves the efficiency of digestion and reduces the amount of methane gas produced by cattle. The research is one of 20 projects supported by the Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP), a partnership with universities and conservation groups across Canada. The $27 million program supports research into on-farm greenhouse gas mitigation practices and technologies.

“Reducing the amount of greenhouse gases produced by the cattle sector is important both environmentally, economically and helps build public trust,” said Erasmus Okine, Ph.D., Univ. of Lethbridge vice president of research. “Producers want to operate in a sustainable fashion and our study results will help them do that.”