Released July 11, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- A Michigan State University (MSU) doctoral student is the recipient of a National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) award for adding a tropical twist to dairy cow diets. Marcus Hollmann was awarded the 2007 NMPF National Dairy Leadership Scholarship and the Murray Hintz Memorial Scholarship to advance his research into reducing methane production by supplementing feed with coconut oil.
“Coconut oil has been shown to reduce methane emissions from cows and their manure, but no one has done specific nutrition and air quality research,” Hollmann said. “If using coconut oil is valid in a practical setting, this research could have significant impact on the environment and the dairy industry.”
Methane emissions are one of the greatest contributors to the greenhouse effect, and lactating dairy cows produce the most methane of all livestock species. Collectively, cows’ digestive tracts plus stored dairy manure generate about 25 percent of methane emissions worldwide and 80 percent of ammonia emissions in the United States.
“Methane has been shown to be a greenhouse gas, and this project is part of a worldwide effort to help reduce those gases,” Hollmann said. “Our goal is to reduce the methane that cows produce without reducing the amount of milk produced. If you get less milk, you will need more cows, which would counteract our efforts.”
Hollmann’s research will focus on reducing methane and ammonia emissions on both ends of the nutrient cycle -- feeding and excretion. Studies have shown the medium-chain fatty acids in coconut oil can reduce digestive tract methane production in cows by 68 percent.
Advised by Dave Beede, MSU Meadows Chair professor, and Wendy Powers, director of animal agriculture and the environment at MSU, Hollmann will mix coconut oil into feed and measure its effects on methane emissions from lactating dairy cows at the new Animal Air Quality Research Facilities on the MSU campus.
MSU is the first research institution in the United States to study coconut oil’s effect on the air emissions from lactating dairy cows. Hollmann’s experience studying dairy nutrition and water quality at Virginia Tech University made him an ideal candidate for doctoral research in MSU’s highly regarded dairy nutrition program, Beede said.
“One of the main reasons Marcus came to MSU was to learn more about dairy nutrition and air quality,” Beede said. “He has done an excellent job finding a new angle and approach to studying methane emissions reduction.”
Hollmann said he was surprised and flattered to win the $4,000 NMPF scholarship, and that he will use it to help fund his doctoral research. The Animal Agriculture Initiative (AAI), Michigan’s animal initiative housed at MSU, the C.E. Meadows Endowment for dairy nutrition and nutrient management and the U.S. Department of Agriculture are the primary financial sponsors of the research.
The NMPF awards are given to graduate students who exhibit academic excellence and whose research demonstrates a strong, positive contribution to the dairy industry.
The AAI is a partnership between MSU, livestock producers and industry organizations and the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Governed by the Animal Agriculture Initiative Coalition, its objective is to address challenges facing Michigan’s animal agriculture industry through research and Extension projects. To learn more about Michigan's animal agriculture initiative at MSU, visit www.animalag.msu.edu.
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http://anrcom.msu.edu/press/070107/071107_coconutoil.htm
Contact: Natalie Ebig Scott, (517) 432-1555, ext. 157
