Carbon Hoofprint: Cows Supplemented With RbST Reduce Agriculture’s Environmental Impact

Milk goes green: Cows that receive recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST) make more milk, all the while easing natural resource pressure and substantially reducing environmental impact, according to a Cornell University study.

Producing milk uses large quantities of land, energy and feed, but rbST — the first biotech product used on American farms — has been in agricultural use for nearly 15 years. Now it is found to reduce the carbon hoofprint by easing energy, land and nutritional inputs necessary to sustain milk production at levels sufficient to meet demand.

This research found that, compared to a non-supplemented population, giving rbST to one million cows would enable the same amount of milk to be produced using 157,000 fewer cows. The nutrient savings would be 491,000 metric tons of corn, 158,000 metric tons of soybeans, and total feedstuffs would be reduced by 2,300,000 metric tons. Producers could reduce cropland use by 219,000 hectares and reduce 2.3 million tons of soil erosion annually.

Click here for the full article.

Tagged as: Animals, Biotech, Cattle, Cows, Dairy Farms, Environment, Farm & Ranch, Farming, Milk, Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin, Soil Erosion