GM grass to cut emissions

AgResearch will soon seek regulatory approval for field trials of new transgenic grasses it claims could reduce greenhouse gas emissions. AgResearch's applied biotechnologies manager, Jimmy Suttie, said the transgenic grasses had both environmental and productivity advantages reports The ODT. The grasses were high in energy, which meant fewer animals were needed to get the same production, reducing the amount of methane released. The science behind the forage meant digestion of the plant was more efficient, cutting the amount of methane produced by animals and increasing energy that went into tissue and productivity. But Dr Suttie said the technology also had implications for further research to cut methane emissions and reduce the volume of water required by the plants. The greenhouse gas methane was NZ's greatest contributor to climate change, but farmers and the primary sector have said they had few options to reduce its production, other than reducing the number of animals on farms. Dr Suttie said the research had the backing of Dairy New Zealand, Meat and Wool New Zealand and Deer Industry New Zealand. "All the major producer bodies and major companies involved in New Zealand agriculture are all investing in plant biotechnology at the moment."