Better feed and genes could cut livestock emissions – but only if animals survive, farmers say

In the heart of Namori village, in the outskirts of Mwea Game Reserve in Eastern Kenya, Samuel Muturi Karobia chops fodder into manageable pieces for his two Friesian dairy cattle.

Karobia bought the two animals three years ago after he sold off a herd of 11 locally bred cattle. It was a great decision, he said.

“At the moment, I milk one of the two animals and the milk I get is three times more than what I used to get from three local breed (cows) combined,” he said.

Now a new study suggests that such breed switches, combined with changed diets for the animals, could reduce the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted by into the atmosphere by livestock.