Loewith, a third-generation farmer in Lynden, Ontario, in June started artificially inseminating 107 cows and heifers with the first-to-market bull semen with a low-methane genetic trait.

"Selectively breeding for lower emissions, as long as we're not sacrificing other traits, seems like an easy win," Loewith said.

The arrival of commercially available genetics to produce dairy cattle that emit less methane could help reduce one of the biggest sources of the potent greenhouse gas, scientists and cattle industry experts say.

Burps are the top source of methane emissions from cattle. Semex, the genetics company that sold Loewith the semen, said adoption of the low-methane trait could reduce methane emissions from Canada's dairy herd by 1.5 percent annually, and up to 20 percent-30 percent by 2050.

The company this spring began marketing semen with the methane trait in 80 countries. Early sales include a farm in the United Kingdom and dairies in the United States and Slovakia, said vice-president Drew Sloan.

If adopted widely, low-methane breeding could have a "profound impact" on cattle emissions globally, said Frank Mitloehner, professor of animal science at University of California Davis, who was not involved in developing the trait.

Popular

10 foreigners arrested, Rp 7.79b seized as police raid Batam casino

Calls for reform grow ahead of Prabowo’s state address

Indonesia’s rare earth push faces low-content, costly extraction hurdles