California approves supplement that cuts cows’ methane emissions
The California state Department of Food and Agriculture has approved the use of a seaweed feed additive that can reduce methane emissions from cows and contribute to the fight against climate change.
A public benefit company based in Hawaii, Blue Ocean Barns, is producing the feed additive from a variety of red seaweed called Brominata. The supplement has now been approved for use on both conventional and organic dairy farms in California, which produces more cow’s milk than any other state in the US.
Trials have shown that the additive can cut methane emissions in dairy cows by more than 50% over 50 days. One trial at the University of California, Davis, has suggested that using the additive as 1% of a cow’s diet could be enough to reduce its methane emissions by up to 60%.
The team at UC Davis has also conducted a successful trial with beef cattle; adding the seaweed supplement to feed produced a reduction of 82% in methane emissions from the cattle.
“California is being really bold and putting their money where their mouth is in their desire to have a sustainable dairy industry,” said Joan Salwen, CEO of Blue Ocean Barns. “They were first to grant a licence and approve labels and get us into the market.”
She pointed out that Brominata is in short supply at the moment but that Blue Ocean Barns was making progress in scaling up production.
