Dr. Frank Mitloehner:

There is some confusion over whether methane matters once it is biogenic versus fossil. It is important to mention that if you have a constant source of methane, say, a constant cow herd, then an almost equal amount of methane produced is also destroyed by a process called hydroxyl oxidation not leading to additional warming. A constant source of methane or a near-constant source of methane does not add significant additional warming. If you grow herd sizes, for example, you increase methane. That will increase warming, and significantly so. However, if you manage to reduce methane, which is what we just did here in the State of California, by 10% to 30%, say, then that reduction of methane leads to a reduction in warming.

This is really important to mention. If they view methane not as a challenge but as an opportunity, our farmers could become part of a climate solution. It is really important to tell farmers that methane is only a problem if we ignore it and do not manage it. If we do manage it, we can be part of a solution.