methane emissions intensity benefits from better pasture  
      Now incorporating a methane charging calculation    
   
 
    About      
  Version: 13/10/2022    
      There are two important measures relating to methane emissions from farmed animals. They are gross emissions and emissions intensity, ie per kg of carcase weight.
For many farming operations, particularly hill country, reducing the latter is easier than reducing overall emissions without de-stocking.
Paradoxically however, the strategy to achieve this impacts negatively on the former for a given area of land.
Methane is directly related to dry matter intake (consumption) {DMI}. For NZ pasture fed cattle, the factor is 21.6gm per kgDM. It therefore follows that the provision of higher nutritional value dry matter of would be advantageous. This, coupled with a more intensive grazing management regime, has the added benefit of promoting greater daily weight gain, itself of benefit because it reduces the grazing days to a target liveweight. (A significant part of the daily intake requirements is for "maintenance".)
The paradox comes because these modern higher nutritional value grasses grow significantly more dry matter per year than, for example, old rye grass and browntop pastures.
The gold plated version of the strategy to reduce product intensity comes at a high capital cost because it usually involves subdivision, ie fencing, water reticulation and regrassing.
This App offers the ability for a user to analyse the benefits that can be derived in the methane emissions space from better pastures and a more intensive grazing regime.
Disclaimer: While every effort has been made to ensure that the contents of the App are accurate at the version date, no consequential decisions should be made without first obtaining appropriate professional advice.
 
    If you want to be able to share scenarios, you can create a unique login to save your data. Tap the Button below and when the App opens Bookmark (or save to Home screen) the URL. You can share that login URL.
There is no limit to the number of logins you can create, its just a case of keeping a record!
 
     
    Base Assumptions                              
    CH4 / KgDM                              
    CH4 GWP      times CO2                    
    Target kg (Lw or Cw)
                         
    The section below allows the user to test a range of weight and growth rate scenarios (eg Lw versus Cw, etc) before populating the variables in the analyser model.   
                       
 
    Assume:   Yield
KgLwg  
            Days
 
    KgLw
Start
Lwg pd (max 2kg) End   Days Tot MjME MjME  pd KgDM pd Total Kg CH4 Lwg/ha pa Kg CO2e
   
  Assume:  Yield MjME  /kgDM DMI pa/ha
 
  Assume:  Yield MjME  /kgDM DMI pa/ha
 
 
       
     
             
    Annual CH4/ha, (based on DMI) =   
     
    These feed requirements have been derived from interpolated Beef and Lamb NZ published research data.  
    Test drive a methane charging regime  
    On October 11, 2022 the government announced its preferences for charging for methane emissions from 2025. It accepted some of the He Waka Eke Noa (HWEN) proposals but not others, with the most significant rejection being that the government will determine the price of methane (CH4)  emissions. A consultation period starts straight away, finishing on November 18.
Given this development, one has to assume that the price will be based on the latest price of NZUs.  By 2025, that will be at least $100 per tonne (mt) so we'll use that as a starting number. The CH
4 price would then be $2,500/mt or $2.50 per kg.  In the first year, there is a 95% discount, reducing by 1% pa (until 2029 or for 10 years, not yet confirmed) resulting in a likely charge of around 12.5c/kg. 

Note: Nitrous oxide will be charged for on the basis of its GWP factor of 298 albeit also benefiting from the discount for a limited number of years.
 
    Analysis          
 
    CH4 GWP CH4/KgDM Disc  
      Phaseout of discount
    Analysis year  
     
Try 60 for Methane or 6000 for consumed DMI (from the default Regime 2 above).
 
     
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