Capstone internship at the Dairy Training an Research Institute (DTRI) with the mini study : effects of period and different diets of cattle carbon dioxide (CO2) to methane (CH4) emmission ration, milk yield, and dry matter intake (DMI)

Date

6-2026

Adviser

Precious Jewel Dela Cruz

Principal

Buela, Mabel S.

Abstract

In the Philippines, cattle produce 13% of methane emissions. Despite this small contribution, boosting their productivity while minimizing their emissions may strengthen Philippine food security. This study aimed to: (1) gain experience in various hands-on activities within the Dairy Training and Research Institute (DTRI) through an 80-hour internship, (2) determine the effects of period and different diets—control, ration-formulated, and methane-mitigating—on: carbon dioxide (CO2) to methane (CH4) ratio, milk yield, and dry matter intake (DMI), and (3) identify the most effective diet for reducing CH4 emissions. During the internship, the researchers experienced dairy production operations within DTRI. The mini-study was conducted on nine Holstein-Jersey crossbred cows for three experimental periods with emission measurements collected by the GreenFeed system. A Latin square design was applied, with milk yield as the blocking factor and period as the column. The data was analyzed through a Generalized Linear Model with a significance level of 0.05, which revealed that the CO2

:CH4 ratio was affected by diet (p = 0.033) and period (p < 0.001). This may be attributed to the addition of ipil-ipil, which is reported to reduce CH4 emissions. While both milk yield (p < 0.001) and DMI (p = 0.019) were affected by the period only, likely due to the cow’s advancing stage of lactation, thereby causing differences in milk production and DMI. Despite the diet not being significant, the ration-formulated diet during period three produced the highest CO2 :CH4 ratios. This trend may be associated with the forage-to-concentrate ratio, wherein higher concentrate diets yielded lower CH4 production. Post-hoc Bonferroni analysis revealed that pairwise comparisons of the diets were not significant but period-dependent. In conclusion, results show period duration and frequency affect dietary efficacy, providing insights on how sustainability can be improved in the local dairy industry.

Language

English

Location

UP Rural High School

Document Type

Capstone

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