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Setting up a facility to test methane recording devices at Wageningen Livestock Research (WLR)
With the increasing focus on recording enteric methane emissions of individual ruminant animals, more new methane recording devices enter the market. Within the Global Methane Genetics (GMG) initiative, WLR is setting up a protocol to test methane recording devices.
This protocol will be the basis for WLR to set up a test facility, aligned with the guidelines of ICAR (International Committee of Animal Recording).
Specifications of currently commercially available sniffers were collated and summarised on the Wiki-page of ICAR. Based on a combination of purchase cost and accuracy, five sniffer devices were selected for the first test. When they arrived in Wageningen, the Netherlands, they were first tested in the Air Quality Lab. Once they pass the test, they will be installed on-farm.
On-farm testing
Once the sniffer devices pass the lab test, they will be installed for one year on the two experimental farms of WLR; De Marke and the Dairy Campus. Here the breath of the cows will be collected in a measuring tube when they are in a milking robot. The sniffer devices continuously collect air from this measuring tube and record the CH4 and CO2 concentrations. We will test how stable the devices record over time, and whether or not they drift after a certain period. Once a month we will perform a Gold Standard measurement with the Lung Method. For three periods of two hours air will be sampled in a bag from this measuring tube, in duplo, which will then be analysed with Gas Chromatography. The measured concentrations of CH4 and CO2 will then be compared with the average concentrations of each sniffer device in the same time frame.
We aim to have a GreenFeed installed in the barn with the milking robot, so that we can collect measurements from visits to the milking robot and to the GreenFeed on the same day. This will be used for day-to-day comparison of the recorded methane emissions.
ICAR protocol
In this testing facility we follow the protocols for the ICAR guidelines for “Testing, Approval and Checking of Measuring, Recording and Sampling Devices” (section 11, procedure 8). This will allow for ICAR certification later on as well.
For more information or questions, please contact gmg@wur.nl.