31 January 2025

Measuring and monitoring methane emissions helps drive to net zero and 5G adoption

Wider interest

Findings from a study measuring methane emissions from dairy cattle to help agriculture’s transition to net zero have been published.

The project, led by researchers at Newcastle University’s School of Natural and Environment Sciences, aimed to demonstrate that low-cost technology and analytical procedures can quantify greenhouse gas emissions from dairy cattle.

Carried out at the university’s Nafferton Farm in Northumberland, the research, funded by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE), laid the groundwork for non-invasively quantifying dairy cow breath concentration of methane. The low-cost design hopes to make measuring and monitoring other UK dairy farms accessible, resulting in data-driven implementation of mitigation measures.

Due to the data being transmitted wirelessly to enable remote access, it has also helped to leverage Government funds to drive 5G adoption and generate wider interest in industry, policy and research circles.

Proof-of-concept helps guide policy

Greenhouse gas accounting for the UK dairy industry states:

“This NICRE-funded project demonstrated proof-of-concept that low-cost technology can be installed in a commercial setting and used to collect valuable emissions data. This has helped to create a Newcastle University Research Platform at Nafferton Farm, generating interest from farmers, consultants, commercial companies, local authorities and research institutes.

“The data collected through this project has resulted in a successful £1.3million funding from Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to improve on-farm measurements and test data access using 5G, DEFRA-funded research, numerous undergraduate and postgraduate student projects (2023 and 2024) and well-attended farm open days and events. This interest and further funding results in more technology and staff, better quality science and data that can be used to guide policy, farmers and commercial companies.”

The report authors are Sam Wilson, Newcastle University, Angela Sherry, Northumbria University, and Hannah Davis, Newcastle University.

The project is one of seven commissioned by NICRE to examine how rural enterprises are adapting to the major challenges affecting the economy.

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