A study conducted at Cornell by the D.E. Bauman research group revealed that dairy cows that receive Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin (rbST) have a higher milk efficiency, which in turn lowers their carbon footprints. RbST is an FDA approved artificial growth hormone that allows cows to more efficiently use nutrients so that fewer cows are required to produce the same amount of milk.
“On an individual cow basis we get eight percent less manure, less feed, less land, less water [when supplemented with rbST]. We get less methane, nitrogen and phosphorus coming out of the cow,” said Judith Capper, animal science, the lead author of the study. “The cows give an extra 10 ounces of milk.”