When Dr. Leluo Guan peers inside a cow’s stomach, she sees more than microbes—she sees an opportunity to cut methane emissions from cattle and improve profits for Canadian beef and dairy farmers.

The industries contribute more than $50 billion annually to Canada’s GDP and support thousands of jobs from British Columbia to Ontario and Quebec. But cattle account for more than half of Canada’s agricultural methane emissions—a potent driver of global warming.

For farmers already navigating high feed costs, droughts and trade pressures, methane is both a climate challenge and an economic problem.

“In a cow’s stomach, microbes turn feed into energy for growth and milk production, but they also produce methane as a byproduct,” said Dr. Guan, a professor in UBC’s Faculty of Land and Food Systems and Canada Research Chair in Animal Functional Microbiome and Genomics. “That methane represents wasted feed energy.”

With feed accounting for 50 to 70 per cent of a farm’s operating costs, even small gains in feed efficiency could deliver substantial savings – while also cutting emissions. Demand for climate-friendly foods is also rising, creating a competitive advantage for producers who cut emissions.

That’s why Dr. Guan is leading a $7.9-million, federally-funded initiative to develop affordable, practical tools to reduce methane emissions and boost feed efficiency in cattle. Anchored at UBC, the project brings together researchers from the universities of Alberta, Guelph, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and industry partners Semex and Lactanet.

“We’re pushing forward innovative biotech solutions to fine-tune the microbes in a cow’s stomach so less methane is produced and more energy is available for animal growth,” said Dr. Guan. “That’s a win for farmers, consumers and the climate.” 

The cow burp problem 

A 100-cow dairy farm emits roughly 11,500 kilograms of methane each winter, mostly through cow burps. That’s about the same as 74 gasoline cars. Scaled across Canada’s 11 million cattle, the environmental and economic impact is substantial. 

While feed additives have been explored as mitigation tools, none have proven consistently effective, affordable or practical outside controlled feedlots. In Canada, where cattle often graze on pasture or winter forage, solutions must be flexible and low-touch.

“Farmers want to be part of the climate solution,” said Dr. Guan. “But they need tools that are affordable, easy to use and supportive of animal health and productivity.”

That need has shaped a cross-Canada team spanning genomics, animal productivity and welfare, data science and economics, including UBC researchers Drs. Marina von Keyserlingk, O.C., Daniel Weary and Ronaldo Cerri, along with UBC graduate students.

Their focus is the rumen, the first chamber of the cow’s stomach, where 95 per cent of methane is produced. 

To better understand that complex microbial system, the team has created Canada’s first national rumen microbiome database with samples from more than 10,000 cattle nationwide, and are building predictive models to examine how microbes and cattle genetics interact to influence methane production and feed efficiency.

That science underpins a suite of complementary tools.

These include RNA interference approaches that reduce the activity of genes methane-producing microbes rely on; custom microbial blends, similar to probiotics, that promote more efficient digestion; and phages—naturally occurring viruses that selectively target methane-forming microbes without disrupting the broader rumen ecosystem.

Some cows naturally produce less methane, and the team is identifying the genetic traits linked to those lower levels. Dr. Guan’s previous work shows these rumen microbe traits are partially heritable, which could help breeders build lower-emitting herds. 

To make methane reduction practical on farms, the team is also testing low-cost tools like methane “sniffers” that measure gas in a cow’s breath, while developing simple saliva tests to identify high- and low-emitting animals.

The team plans to finalize early formulations by the end of the year and begin real-world trials in 2027 at the UBC Dairy Education and Research Centre in Agassiz, B.C.—a working dairy farm with nearly 500 cows and the infrastructure needed to study emissions, nutrition, genetics and animal behaviour.

“These tools give farmers a comprehensive strategy—combining the right genetics, microbiome interventions and management practices—to cut methane emissions by up to 30 per cent in dairy cows and 40 per cent in beef cattle, supporting Canada’s goal of a net-zero economy by 2050,” said Dr. Guan.

Positioning Canadian agriculture for the future 

Dr. Guan is also collaborating with international partners, including the European Union’s Horizon HoloRuminant project and the U.S.-led Greener Cattle Initiative, supporting global efforts to build climate-smart livestock systems. 

Cutting methane is one of the fastest ways to slow warming in the near term. As carbon markets evolve, farmers who reduce emissions could gain access to new revenue streams, strengthening Canada’s position in global food markets.

“This research isn’t just about microbes,” said Dr. Guan. “It’s about helping Canadian farmers and the industries that feed millions of people succeed in a changing world.” 

Learn more about how UBC research and partnerships are helping to power the economy.