Canada: Dairy farm methane emissions study by Dalhousie researchers gets boost from satellite, AI technology

Milk and methane seem to make strange bedfellows in Canada, a country that feeds on one and is trying to limit the other. Canadian dairy farms produce large quantities of both, and now Dalhousie University researchers are using satellite data and AI to track dairy farm methane emissions in an effort to help set realistic emission reduction targets. “When you compare methane to carbon dioxide, methane is much more powerful to trap the heat over 100 years,” said Suresh Neethirajan, associate professor and research chair in Dalhousie’s computer science and agriculture faculties. “Reducing methane emissions is much more critical for the climate goal. Yes, we have to control carbon dioxide, but reducing methane emissions is much more critical for the short-term climate goals. If you look at the dairy farms, if you look at who is producing the methane, of course agriculture is the largest contributor for methane in the climate. “Dairy farms are number one, so naturally we look at how ...