Intra-ruminal measurement of methane: validation and verification under different management systems

Summary

​Gas production in the rumen of livestock provides an important indication of metabolic function, as well as being a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock industries thus require technology to measure enteric gas emissions from large numbers of individual animals simply, quickly, accurately and reliably. An intra-ruminal wireless sensor unit has been developed for measuring concentration of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen in the rumen, and is integrated with CSIRO's wireless sensor network platform to provide telemetric capability. The complete unit includes miniaturized infra-red sensors, "Nano" circuit board, memory storage and battery supply, all of which are inserted into a diffusion cell that protects the device from the corrosive environment of the rumen. Once inside the diffusion cell, the sensors collect and transmit data from the equilibrated rumen gases to the outside world via radio transceiver. This will enable researchers and producers to develop, monitor and validate methane mitigation strategies to reduce emissions from grazing ruminants.​