Methane Study Tests Angus Breed

REDFIELD, Iowa (DTN) -- Angus Genetics Inc. (AGI) will lead North American research in search of more efficient livestock, funded by a $4.85 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund and Global Methane Hub.

For the next five years, data will be collected from cattle in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Ireland to measure differences in methane emissions of grass-grazing cattle, according to Mark McCully, CEO of the American Angus Association (AAA).

McCully said the Angus group, which includes AAA and its subsidiaries of AGI and the Angus Foundation, hopes to better understand how genetics plays a part in energy efficiency between animals.

Concern was brought forward by Angus breeders once the news came out of the research back in April 2025. Angus breeder Chris Earl, who also owns CK6 Consulting and Bid on Beef, which works with many Angus breeders across the country, said his concern came right out of the gate with where the funding came from. "I think the job of the American Angus Association is to inform its members. A $4.85 million transaction happened and the American Angus Association member that built that institution was not informed," he said. "And then hearing Jeff Bezos' name and this Earth Fund and then the Global Methane Hub and what their role was. I became very concerned early."

LOOKING AT THE FUNDING SOURCE

Earl's concerns were mostly about the source of the funding and the main goals of both the Bezos Earth Fund and the Global Methane Hub. The mission of the Global Methane Hub, as stated on its website, is to accelerate action by governments, civil society, researchers, investors, and the private sector to develop and implement strategies that will catalyze rapid systemic reductions in methane emissions in the energy, agriculture, and waste sectors. McCully explained this group as one that collaborates with researchers and funding sources.

The Bezos Earth Fund is a funding source within the Global Methane Hub. According to its website, the Bezos Earth Fund was created by a commitment of $10 billion from Bezos in 2020 to be disbursed as grants to address climate and nature within the current decade.

McCully said AGI was approached more than a year ago by the group of beef researchers from around the world to be included in the proposal to determine how genetics plays a role in methane production by the beef animal and its relationship to feed efficiency, lifetime performance and beef quality traits. "AGI was invited to be a part of this multi-institution project and was asked to represent Angus genetics here in the U.S.," he explained. "Those researchers then collectively put together a grant proposal to receive funding for the project." The research group submitted this proposal to the Global Methane Hub in the fall of 2024 and funding was awarded by the Bezos Earth Fund in February 2025. The announcement was made to the membership in April 2025. The Angus Foundation was awarded the money, to act as the distributor of the funds to the research participants.

AGI's GOALS AND WORK

John Dickinson, a California Angus breeder, member of the AAA board of directors and chairman of the AGI board of directors, said one of the goals of AGI is to provide a way for research to be done that may have previously been done through other routes. Through the years, many of the land-grant institutions have seen cuts in funding, but Dickinson said this important research still needs to be done.

"A lot of the work AGI is doing is for new trait research, such as the foot and claw or teat and udder information which has been released," he said. "The new project in the works is with the methane research and the grazing efficiency project."

Dickinson said as the cow herd has shrunk and producers need to raise more with less, the end goal of the methane research is the trait of efficiency. Similar research has been going on with dairy cattle and sheep, as well as other research with beef cattle. AGI has previously been involved with methane research with Kansas State University using the GreenFeed system to collect gasses given off by animals within the monitored area.

THE SCIENCE OF COWS

Logan Thompson, Kansas State University assistant animal science professor, specializes in sustainable livestock feeding and has worked with the GreenFeed system, which collects respired air in the natural environment through sensors when the grazing cow is in the space of the sensors. "Most of the methane -- 94% to 97% -- comes from the front end of a cow, which makes it easier to collect," he said.

A mature 1,300-pound cow on pasture will produce 210-240 grams of methane per day, according to Thompson. This amount changes to 160-200 g/day for a stocker calf on grass. Finishing cattle in a feedlot setting will produce 120 g/day. "Cows, in general, eat a higher fiber diet that is lower in quality than animals in a feedlot. Thus, the grazing cow does produce more methane," Thompson said. "But a cattle operation is doing more than producing methane. We must stress how cattle producers are managing a healthy ecosystem through grass and water management and providing a home for wildlife."

Kansas State University Extension cow-calf specialist Jason Warner said there have been a lot of studies done on the feedlot sector since those animals are confined for ease of data collection, but the forage-based system actually has more effect on methane production. "When looking at the big picture of methane emissions, we don't have a lot of data about what in particular influences differences," he said.

In most cases, Warner would expect methane production to be influenced by dry matter intake. "Methane production is a natural process as a by-product of rumen fermentation," he said. "We have a lot to learn about it and if we select cattle based on the results of some of this research is really yet to be seen."

WHERE WILL THE MONEY GO

The funds, according to AGI, will be distributed to the research partners by the Angus Foundation, who will receive a 3% administrative fee for handling those dollars. That cut will fund scholarships, youth programs and education. Also, the Angus website states, "Like in the case of any grant funding, the Bezos Earth Fund/Global Methane Hub has no authority to influence or alter the direction, design, or use of research outlined in the proposal."

Earl said he is concerned with data being stored at the Global Methane Hub and he questions the security of that location along with its availability to others, even though AGI assures the active researchers are the only ones with access.

Texas Angus producer Brian Palmer also questions the funding source and just what message will be heard from the other side. "We keep hearing different things about what the research is or isn't, so my biggest concern is what is the research. We read the Bezos Earth Fund announcement, and it talks about reducing methane emissions, and then we read the Angus Association says it's about cow efficiency," he said. "Those don't really line up. For me, the concept that cattle are a part of the problem, we don't accept that."

Palmer also said he doesn't think the board of directors or the association is listening to the membership. Earl showed the same concern. "It seems that there is a large percentage of very upset breeders. They keep saying they want a seat at the table. How about you sit at the table with your members first before you sit down with these other groups," Palmer stated.

Palmer is concerned with Bezos' investment in fake meat and plant-based alternatives as well as a vaccine he has invested in to reduce methane emissions in cattle, which means Bezos potentially stands to profit from this research. His concern goes further to potential mandates, taxes or reduction of herd sizes for cattle producers in regard to methane production.

THE RESEARCH PLAN

Dickinson said much of the money AGI will receive will be used to construct the device or chamber to collect methane output of a cow, as several will be needed for the collection of 4,600 samples over the next 5 years.

AGI outlines the effort on its website, saying the research will aid in the collection of more than 10,000 methane phenotypes and genotypes among the five participating countries. The data will then be combined together to understand how much methane emissions have to do with genetics versus other environmental factors and how this trait relates to other important traits like feed efficiency, productive life and beef quality, and integrate findings into genetic selection tools for breeding programs to deliver long-term, low-cost benefits.

AGI President Kelli Retallick-Riley said the exact protocol for the data collection is not done yet, but she expects it to be a deliverable out of the first activity of the research. AGI will work with the other research partners to determine specifics surrounding the collection protocols on the study -- especially leaning on the New Zealand researchers since they have used the portable accumulation chambers previously. Parameters must be made to account for cow size and weight to ensure there is enough available oxygen while the measurements are being taken. Retallick-Riley said this research is being looked at like a genetic project to capture measurements and analyze the correlations among the data points.

"Capturing methane emissions and other carbon emissions in general is a fairly new area in terms of research, so there's always a bit of a learning curve," she added. "Any time we can equip Angus breeders with science-based tools that can help them drive meaningful genetic progress in their herds with no cost to them, that is a success." Retallick-Riley expects changes to be made as needed during the data collection, understanding the management differences between the cattle being collected and developing contemporary groups is an important part of the collection in order to piece apart what is genetic and what is environmental.

"I've talked to several members wanting the grazing information. Most are fine with the research, just don't like to be associated with where the funds are coming from," Dickinson said. "And then many think cows aren't the problem in methane emissions."

For Earl, it is also about transparency of the association and their communication with members. "I think where we've gotten with the association is they truly think they are leading us rather than serving us, and I think that is an issue to the point to where I think it really went against our trust this time," he said.

McCully said he is proud of the overall research AGI is a part of and wants members to understand these studies take time. "This has brought some light to all the research AGI is working on and the importance of communication of this work to the cattle industry. We will build on the tools available to Angus members and they can see how each works for them."

For more information on the research project, visit https://www.angus.org/….

Jennifer Carrico can be reached at jennifer.carrico@dtn.com

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