AgNext Feed Additive Calculator Tool (FACT) for Dairy
Purpose and Intent:
This spreadsheet is intended to be used by dairy producers and technical consultants to predict enteric methane emissions from lactating dairy cows following USDA guidelines and to explore the economic implications of feed additives that mitigate enteric methane emissions. This calculator tool can be used for three main purposes:
- To estimate current baseline enteric methane emissions for lactating cows based on dry matter intake, NDF content, body weight and milk fat content.
- To estimate enteric methane emissions of the same group of cows given they are fed a methane mitigating feed additive (user-defined mitigation value).
- The economic implications of feeding the feed additive based on user-defined carbon price (in $/metric ton CO2e), feed costs, additive costs, performance impacts (dry matter intake, changes in milk solids).
This spreadsheet calculator tool is meant to be used for informational and educational purposes only.
Please note: no personal information is stored on this spreadsheet or recorded by AgNext.
Instructions:
A user can change inputs on the sheet in cells with blue text. The calculator will automatically update the outputs as the user changes the input values. Watch this video for detailed instruction on how to use the AgNext FACT for Dairy. More information about specific inputs can be found in the user guide.
Sources:
Quantifying Greenhouse Gas Fluxes in Agriculture and Forestry: Methods for Entity-Scale Inventory
US EPA Understanding Global Warming Potentials
Contact:
Dr. Sara Place, Associate Professor of Feedlot Systems, sara.place@colostate.edu