High-Tech Farm Lab Checks Which Plants and Animals Are More Sustainable

A research project in North Wyke, London is using advanced technology to tackle climate issues, live-monitoring nutrients and gas emissions in farms to develop more sustainable ways to farm and raise animals.

“We want to make an efficient (agricultural) system so that we can consume as much of the nutrients we put in, and we lose as little. That’s the ultimate goal,” says Taro Takahashi, research scientist at Rothamsted Research’s Farm Lab.

One of the findings the scientists from Rothamsted – the world’s oldest agricultural research insititute – noted from animal sensors is that some cattle emit up to 40% less methane than others, leaving the opportunity to breed the more “eco-friendly” cattle as a simple technique to cutting emissions.

Farm Lab researchers also noted that emissions were cut by up to 20% by growing legumes, since legumes improve soil health and cut the need for synthetic fertilisers, also allowing for animals to grow better.