SUPPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES TO MITIGATE METHANE IN GROWING NELORE BULLS ON PASTURE

• Grant number: 24/03667-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Andrade Reis
• Grantee: Lucas dos Santos Del Vecchio
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil

Abstract

One of the main sources of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Brazil is the agricultural sector, a large part of which is attributed to cattle farming. The increased concentration of these gases causes warming of the Earth's surface and destruction of the ozone layer in the stratosphere. It is therefore essential to measure and quantify the enteric methane emitted by animals in different production systems and to employ strategies to mitigate the emission of these gases. This work aims to evaluate the effects of protein-energy supplementation in different concentrations and the control treatment with mineral salt on the enteric methane emissions of Nelore bulls reared on Xaraés grass pastures during the water period (December 2023 - April 2024). The experiment will be carried out in the Forage Sector of the University of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences (FCAV/UNESP) during the rearing phase of animals kept on pastures of Urochloa brizantha cv. Xaraés. The evaluation of enteric methane emissions will be carried out in an area of 21 hectares divided into 12 paddocks, where 48 Nelore bulls with an average initial body weight of 350 kg will be used. The animals will be randomly allocated to four treatments (3 paddocks per treatment), these are: 1 - Mineral supplement (ad libitum); 2 - Protein-energy supplement (0.25% of body weight); 3 - Protein-energy supplement (0.5% of body weight); 4 - Protein-energy supplement (0.5% of body weight). The supplements will be formulated with residues from the corn alcohol distillery (Dried distiller's grains with solubles-DDGS INPASA) + Probeef MaDDGic Cargill Nutron.