According to femalefirst, Genus is launching a genetic test to identify female calves with the least gas in their digestive systems in the hope that farmers will be able to breed more eco-friendly cows.  The dairy industry is a big contributor to the UK's greenhouse gas emissions with roughly half coming from the methane produced when cows fart.

Methane is more than 25 times as bad as carbon dioxide for trapping heat in the atmosphere, but the new techniques of genetic testing and selective breeding are promising big reductions in the gas.

Marco Winters, who heads animal genetics at the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board in the UK, said: "The emphasis in breeding has shifted from production to animal health and environmental impact, to look at what kind of cow we need."