Twoconcentrates(MELKandVEM)withtwodifferentcarbohydratecompositionswere
supplementedduringmilkinginanAutomaticMilkingSystem(AMS).Theobjectivesofthis
studyweretoestimatetheeffectoftheconcentratesonCH4 emissionfromdairycowsandto
investigatetheprecisionoftheCO2-methodwhenmeasuringinanAMSfordifferentlengthof
time. Holsteincows(n¼36)wereusedwithmeanbodyweightof660kg(SD¼75.13)and
averagemilkproductionof31.7kg(SD¼8.98), mixedparityandmixedlactation.Cowswere
allocatedintwogroups(n¼18).Afteranadaptationperiod(period1),eachgroupreceived
either 100%MELK(MoreEnergyLactatingCows; anewlyintroducedfeedingsystem)or100%
VEM (FeedValueSystemformilkproduction)duringperiods2and3.Besides,bothgroups
werefedthesameTotalMixedRation(TMR) ad libitum in thestable.AirsamplesintheAMS
fromapointnearthecowsheadwereanalysedevery20susingtheGasmetequipmentbased
on FourierTransformInfrared(FTIR)SpectroscopyTechnique.Theequipmentrancontinuously
for15daysoverthethreemeasurementperiods(5days3 periods)witha14dayswaiting
time inbetweentheperiods.IndividualrecordsoftheCH4 and CO2 concentrationsinthecows
breathwascalculatedaftersubtractingtheCH4 and CO2 concentrationsinthestableairfrom
the measuredconcentrations.TheCH4:CO2 ratiowasthenmultipliedwiththecalculatedtotal
CO2 productionbytheindividualcowstogetthequantitativeCH4 production.Milkproduction
and totaldrymatterintake(DMI,kg/day)wereverysimilarinthetwogroups.The
supplementedconcentratewasallocatedaccordingtotheindividualmilkyieldandtheintake
rangedfrom1.60to7.30kg/dayinMELKcowsandfrom2.06to7.20kg/dayinVEMcows.No
significantdifferencewasfoundforCH4 productioninMELKandVEMgroupsoverthethree
periods.AlinearpositiverelationbetweentheCH4 (g/day)andenergycorrectedmilk(ECM,
kg/day)productionandthefeedintake(DMI,kg/day)wasobservedfortheentireperiod.The
calculatedCO2 and CH4 productionwereverysimilarinthetwogroupsthroughouttheentire
measurementperiod.TheanalysisoftheprecisionoftheCO2-method,usinga95%significance
level,indicatedthatshowingadifferenceof9or5%inmethaneproductionrequiresa
measuringperiodof5or15days,respectively,whenusing18cowspergroup.Thestudyshows
noeffectofalimitedchangeinsupplementationofstarchandsugaronCH4 production
throughfeedingconcentratesMELKorVEMintheAMS.Toobtainaneffectofchangingthe