Dear Colleagues,
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announces the release of the "Draft Final Dairy Research Prospectus to Achieve Senate Bill 1383 Climate Goals" (Prospectus) for a two-week public review period.
The Prospectus includes recommended research concepts to address knowledge shortfalls and dairy emissions research needs in California, particularly those related to methane. The Dairy and Livestock Subgroup #3 (Research Needs, Including Enteric Fermentation) developed the Prospectus after soliciting methane-related dairy research ideas from the general public, dairy industry, researchers, government agencies, environmental justice advocates, and other stakeholders. The Prospectus will provide guidance to funding agencies and stakeholders for future research projects that will aim to improve the understanding of California dairy emissions and methane mitigation strategies.
The Dairy and Livestock Subgroup #3 (SG#3) was formed to: (i) identify dairy research needs to improve the emission estimates of short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), especially methane (CH4), associated with dairy operations in California, (ii) better understand the potential to reduce CH4 emissions from manure through the implementation of mitigation strategies while understanding the air quality and other environmental impacts from the implementation of those strategies, and (iii) better understand the potential to reduce CH4 emissions from enteric fermentation. SG#3 held a series of public meetings to discuss past and current research in the dairy sector. Through this process, SG#3 identified the knowledge shortfalls and dairy emissions research needs in California. SG#3 subsequently developed this Dairy Research Prospectus to Achieve California's SB 1383 Climate Goals with a broad range of research ideas gathered from the stakeholders including working group members, dairy industry, researchers, government agencies, environmental justice advocates, and others. These ideas formed the basis for the recommended project concepts. Information obtained from such research should improve the understanding of dairy emissions and effective SLCP mitigation strategies. Focused implementation of CH4 emission reduction measures should achieve the goals of Senate Bill 1383 (SB 1383).
If you are interested in providing public comments, please review the Prospectus and submit written and/or oral comments HERE.
Comments are due to CARB by October 10th, 5:00 PM PST.
Please contact the Office of Contracts and Grants should you be interested in planning a research project that addresses the research needs and recommendations defined in the prospectus.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)