Assessment of regional greenhouse gas emission from beef cattle production: a case study of Saskatchewan in Canada

The beef cattle production has been considered as one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emission. A large amount of GHGs including N2O and CH4 from enteric fermentation and manure are discharged to atmosphere during beef-production process. In addition, a substantial amount of GHGs is also emitted from many other related processes such as feed production, transportation, and energy consumption. In this study, an emission assessment model was developed to quantify the amount of regional GHGs produced from the beef cattle production process. A case study was conducted based on the beef production in Saskatchewan, Canada. The results demonstrated that the GHG emissions from the annual marketed beef cattle in Saskatchewan in 2014 were 8.52 × 109 kg CO2-eq in total and the cattle-source GHGs (enteric CH4, manure CH4, and manure N2O emission) accounted for more than 90% of the total emission. Sensitivity analysis showed that the most critical factors influencing the GHG emission included feedlot manure handling system, cattle diet, feed additives, maximum methane producing capacity (Bo), and climate (temperature, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration). The potential impacts of climate change on GHG emission from beef cattle production in Saskatchewan were also investigated. An overall decrease in the GHG emission can be observed due to the climate change, which are 3.67%, 4.96%, and 6.63% for 2020–2039, 2040–2059, and 2060–2099, respectively.