Va. Wilkerson et al., THE PREDICTION OF METHANE PRODUCTION OF HOLSTEIN COWS BY SEVERAL EQUATIONS, Journal of dairy science, 78(11), 1995, pp. 2402-2414
Ruminants are one of many sources contributing to atmospheric methane.
The accuracy of seven published equations for methane prediction was
evaluated using a data file consisting of 16 experiments (602 observat
ions). Methane energy emissions ranged from .89 to 7.21 Mcal/d for Hol
stein cows. The DMI ranged from 9.7 to 28.7 kg/d for lactating cows an
d 4.0 to 12.9 kg/d for nonlactating cows. Mean dietary concentrations
of ADF, CP, and ether extract were similar for lactating and nonlactat
ing cows (20.9, 16.5, and 3.0% for lactating cows versus 21.2, 15.7, a
nd 2.9% for nonlactating cows, respectively). Milk production ranged f
rom 2.7 to 55.9 kg/d. Prediction equations were ranked by correlation
coefficients and error of prediction. Prediction of methane energy los
s from lactating and nonlactating Holstein cows with equations based o
n the daily total intake or intake of digested cellulose, hemicellulos
e, and nonfiber carbohydrates (OM - NDF - CP - ether extract) provided
the highest correlation coefficients for reproducibility and the lowe
st errors of prediction. Predictions were poor for lactating cows when
a quadratic function of DMI was used. In general, equations estimated
methane production more accurately and precisely for nonlactating tha
n for lactating cows.