Uncertainty assessment of the breath methane concentration method to determine methane production of dairy cows.

The breath methane concentration method uses the methane concentrations in the cow's breath during feed bin visits as a proxy for the methane production rate. The objective of this study was to assess the uncertainty of a breath methane concentration method in a feeder and its capability to measure and rank cows' methane production. A range of controlled methane fluxes from a so-called artificial reference cow were dosed in a feed bin, and its exhaled air was sampled by a tube inside the feeder and analyzed.