Prediction of methane emission from lactating dairy cows using milk fatty acids and mid‐infrared spectroscopy

Enteric methane ( CH 4 ) production is among the main targets of greenhouse gas mitigation practices for the dairy industry. A simple, robust and inexpensive measurement technique applicable on a large scale to estimate CH 4 emission from dairy cattle would therefore be valuable. Milk fatty acids ( MFA ) are related to CH 4 production because of the common biochemical pathway between CH 4 and fatty acids in the rumen. A summary of studies that investigated the predictive power of MFA composition for CH 4 emission indicated good potential, with predictive power ranging between 47% and 95%. Until recently, gas chromatography ( GC ) was the principal method used to determine the MFA profile, but GC is unsuitable for routine analysis. This has led to the application of mid‐infrared ( MIR ) spectroscopy. The major advantages of using MIR spectroscopy to predict CH 4 emission include its simplicity and potential practical application at large scale. Disadvantages include the inability to predict important MFA for CH 4 prediction, and the moderate predictive power for CH 4 emission. It may not be sufficient to predict CH 4 emission based on MIR alone. Integration with other factors, like feed intake, nutrient composition of the feed, parity, and lactation stage may improve the prediction of CH 4 emission using MIR spectra. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry