Research Brief: Development of Compact Sensing Technology for Continuous Real-Time Monitoring of Enteric Methane

The Harvard Methane Initiative has released a new research brief, summarizing research on and development of a novel, bioinspired, field-deployable sensor for methane emissions from cattle.

You may preview and download the brief at the bottom of this page.

Enteric fermentation by cattle is a major source of agricultural methane emissions, creating a need for practical and scalable methods to measure emissions at the individual-animal and herd levels. Current approaches often rely on specialized instrumentation, controlled environments, or labor-intensive measurements that limit their use in routine farm operations. Gas Recognition and Analysis using Zonal Ear Tags (GRAZE-Tags) is being developed as a low-cost, lightweight methane sensing platform designed for deployment directly on animals or within barns. GRAZE-Tags combine bio-inspired chemical sensing with machine learning to detect and quantify methane in complex, variable environments.

Since the project started in 2024, the research team has focused on translating their previously developed bioinspired sensing approach into a practical, field-deployable sensor of enteric methane. The team built a fully integrated hardware prototype, which has recently been deployed in an ongoing field study. The resulting technology has the potential to enable continuous, distributed measurement of enteric methane emissions without specialized measurement infrastructure, providing data at the individual-animal and herd levels to support research and management strategies for reducing agricultural methane emissions.

This research brief describes the technology and its potential impact.

The Harvard Methane Initiative and the Salata Institute have previously reported on this project:

Anna V. Shneidman. “Recognition and Analysis of Livestock Methane Using Zonal Ear Tags.” Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Harvard University, July 1, 2025. https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/recognition-and-analysis-of-livestock-methane-using-zonal-ear-tags/

David Trilling. “Sniffing Out Cow Burps with an Electronic Nose.” Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Harvard University, February 4, 2026. https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/sniffing-out-cow-burps-with-an-electronic-nose/

Nicholas Lee. “Field Study: Catching Cow Burps in Real Time.” Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability, Harvard University, July 30, 2026. https://salatainstitute.harvard.edu/field-study-catching-cow-burps-in-real-time/

This publication was designed by Bryan Galcik.