Research shows cattle might not contribute as much to climate change as previously thought

There has been a lot of talk lately about cows and the role their flatulence plays in climate change.

But many cattle producers will tell you, that’s a load of bull.

“Any cattle producer will probably smirk when they hear that as far as the methane released by cows affecting global warming,” said Austin Schweitzer, who runs the cow-calf operations Schweitzer Angus.

Research into cattle emissions has mostly focused on the emissions from the cows themselves but new research happening at the University of Nebraska is focusing on the pastures where cattle graze and the role it can play in carbon capture.

“They have not accounted for the capture part, they only account for methane being lost and everything else is in balance. It turns out that’s not really true,” said Galen Erickson, a researcher at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

When it comes to greenhouse gasses you have emissions and capture.

Animals produce CO2, but the soil and plants that grow in it can capture CO2.

Erickson’s team has found that capture — helped out by grazing and manure — can far outweigh the emissions from cattle.