Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will consider undertaking research into animal feeds to reduce methane emissions.

Defra has funded research to consider the impacts of livestock feed management on productivity, welfare and the environment. Much of the work has been undertaken in collaborative projects with industry leading to better products and practices in the sector. This includes work to breed sustainable UK produced alternatives to imported soya protein, development of more beneficial high sugar grass varieties, breeding work to improve feed conversion efficiency in livestock, and research on lower protein diets for dairy animals that maintain yield and welfare.