Reducing emissions from agriculture – the role of new farm technologies

The Scottish Government has committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2045. The Scottish Government's Climate Change Plan update requires the equivalent of a 31% reduction in agricultural emissions by 2032 from 2018 levels. Between 1990-2019 Scottish agriculture’s emissions decreased by only 13%. The uptake of new technologies and practices provides a means to meet reductions in greenhouse gases (GHGs) whilst balancing the need for food production. A number of practices and technologies have been identified which would support progress to this goal, and their cost-effectiveness and impact has been assessed through the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve. The purpose of this project is to identify and explore technologies which have not currently been considered and evaluated for Scotland but which may provide additional carbon savings. It is important to note that the scope of this report does not include nature-based practices but is focused on new technological development that may be applicable to farms in Scotland. Moreover, we take a time frame of 20 years as the horizon by which technologies could be feasibly developed and adopted to impact Scotland's Net Zero goal. Using expert knowledge, state of the art literature reviews and scrutiny of patents databases we identify a 'long list' of 86 new technologies and technology areas which may be applicable to Scottish agriculture if they were developed further and trialled within the Scottish context. These new technologies cover a range of areas, including feed additives directed at enteric methane, remote sensing technology and associated monitoring and data analysis to support control and management of input resources, as well as the replacement of traditional materials with more sustainable components, e.g. single cell proteins grown from algae. Moreover, technologies from other sectors, e.g., distributed ledgers, 3D printing were also identified as having potential. In order to produce a short list all technologies were scored against a range of criteria. This produced a list of 13 technologies or technology areas which are worth exploring further This short-list was explored in greater detail to understand the GHG potential of these technologies, their current stage of development, their potential on-farm cost and further barriers to implementation. For most technologies, the estimates of GHG savings range quite considerably and are typified by only limited evidence of application from mostly within other contexts, for instance asparagosis(a feed additive based on seaweed) has been found to reduce methane emissions by 56% in beef cattle, but this relates to a single trial in another country. Accordingly, any estimates of GHG saving and their cost of implementation are difficult to generalise and come with large uncertainties. exploringfurthe

Genome-Wide Transcriptomic Analysis of Intestinal Tissue to Assess the Impact of Nutrition and a Secondary Nematode Challenge in Lactating Rats

Gastrointestinal nematode infection is a major challenge to the health and welfare of mammals. Although mammals eventually acquire immunity to nematodes, this breaks down around parturition, which renders periparturient mammals susceptible to re-infection and an infection source for their offspring. Nutrient supplementation reduces the extent of periparturient parasitism, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we use a genome wide approach to assess the effects of protein supplementation on gene expression in the small intestine of periparturient rats following nematode re-infection.The use of a rat whole genome expression microarray (Affymetrix Gene 1.0ST) showed significant differential regulation of 91 genes in the small intestine of lactating rats, re-infected with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis compared to controls; affected functions included immune cell trafficking, cell-mediated responses and antigen presentation. Genes with a previously described role in immune response to nematodes, such as mast cell proteases, and intelectin, and others newly associated with nematode expulsion, such as anterior gradient homolog 2 were identified. Protein supplementation resulted in significant differential regulation of 64 genes; affected functions included protein synthesis, cellular function and maintenance. It increased cell metabolism, evident from the high number of non-coding RNA and the increased synthesis of ribosomal proteins. It regulated immune responses, through T-cell activation and proliferation. The up-regulation of transcription factor forkhead box P1 in unsupplemented, parasitised hosts may be indicative of a delayed immune response in these animals.This study provides the first evidence for nutritional regulation of genes related to immunity to nematodes at the site of parasitism, during expulsion. Additionally it reveals genes induced following secondary parasite challenge in lactating mammals, not previously associated with parasite expulsion. This work is a first step towards defining disease predisposition, identifying markers for nutritional imbalance and developing sustainable measures for parasite control in domestic mammals

Glutamine supplementation

Intravenous glutamine supplementation is standard care when parenteral nutrition is given for critical illness. There are data of a reduced mortality when glutamine supplementation is given. In addition, standard commercial products for parenteral nutrition do not contain any glutamine due to glutamine instability in aqueous solutions. For the majority of critical ill patients who are fed enterally, the available evidence is insufficient to recommend glutamine supplementation. Standard formulation of enteral nutrition contains some glutamine: 2-4 g/L. However, this dose is insufficient to normalize glutamine plasma concentration

Glutamine-enriched enteral nutrition increases in vitro interferon-gamma production but does not influence the in vivo specific antibody response to KLH after severe trauma. A prospective, double blind, randomized clinical study.

20) were sensitized with Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH) within 12 h after trauma (17 GLN group). Healthy volunteers served as controls (HV, n=17). In vitro interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), IL-4 and IL-10 productions of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated PBMCs were determined by ELISA technique. KLH-specific IgG, IgM, IgA, IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4 and IgE were measured in serum. RESULTS: Both patient groups had a low in vitro (IFN-) production of stimulated PBMCs on d1. On d14, the IFN-gamma production increased significantly in the glutamine group as compared to the controls. IL-4 production was not different between the groups on day 1 (d1). On d14, IL-4 decreased in the control group as compared to the glutamine group. KLH-specific antibodies reached comparable levels in both patients groups and healthy volunteers at d14. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, trauma caused a suppressed in vitro cellular immune response presented by a low IFN-gamma production and depressed the IgG and IgM response to KLH directly after trauma. Glutamine increased IFN-gamma production (d14), maintained a normal IL-4 production, but was not acquired for the development of KLH-specific humoral response on d14, in sync suggesting that dietary glutamine supports the restoration of the Type-1 T-lymphocyte responsiveness