Satellites help farmers find grazing ‘sweet spot’ to cut livestock methane

Could the key to lowering methane emissions from livestock be grazing at the perfect moment in a pasture’s life cycle?

That’s the premise of Time2Graze, a new initiative that targets livestock emissions by zeroing in on the grasses animals eat. The project uses satellite technology to identify the window in a pasture’s growth cycle when forage is most nutritious — giving cows more energy from the same bite and producing less methane in the process. Launched this week by the Global Methane Hub, the effort is starting in Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and South Africa, all countries where grazing systems dominate.

Cutting methane emissions can be a powerful tool in combating climate change. Methane doesn’t linger in the atmosphere for centuries the way carbon dioxide does, but while it lasts, it is far more destructive: it’s more than 80 times as potent at trapping heat over a 20-year period. The Global Methane Hub is a coalition of philanthropies and organizations working to slash methane emissions by 35% by 2030. Agriculture is the single biggest human source of methane, and livestock digestion accounts for the majority.