Abstract
This study, conducted on a commercial dairy farm using a robotic milking system in Victoria, Australia, examined the effects of Polygain™ (The Product Makers Australia), a polyphenol-rich sugarcane feed material (PRSFM), on CH(4) emissions in grazing dairy cattle using an inverse-dispersion model (IDM) combined with open-path laser techniques. Thirty lactating Holstein Friesian cows (aged 2-5 years with an average body weight of 663 kg and average daily milk production of 28.9 kg) were divided into two dietary treatment groups of fifteen cows each. Before the measurement, the PRSFM (0.25%) was supplemented for 3 weeks as an adaptation period and mixed with pellet feed for the treatment group. Over the 2-week measurement period, CH(4) production (MP) was 495 ± 12 and 377 ± 12 (mean ± standard error) g CH(4)/animal/day for the control and treatment groups, respectively. Methane intensity (MI) was 17.04 and 13.01 g CH(4)/animal/kg milk/day in the control and treatment groups, respectively. On average, Polygain supplementation reduced MP and MI by 24%. This potential CH(4) reduction extrapolated across Australia contributes to a 2.63% reduction in national agricultural emissions. This study underscores the potential of Polygain for CH(4) mitigation in dairy cattle.