Seaweed used to reduce cow burps
A project to turn a native red seaweed into a greenhouse gas-busting cattle feed supplement has received Government backing.
The Government yesterday announced a $100,000 contribution towards the project as part of a visit by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor to the Cawthron Aquaculture Park in Nelson. O’Connor said the project, if successful, could be a ‘‘game-changer for farmers here and around the world’’.
The Cawthron Institute is to receive the money from the Government’s Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund to turn the seaweed, Asparagopsis armata, into a cattle feed supplement for domestic and global markets. This particular seaweed contains chemicals that reduce the microbes in the stomachs of cattle that cause them to burp when they eat grass.
O’Connor said that in previous trials, Asparagopsis armata had reduced greenhouse gas emissions in livestock by up to 80 per cent.
‘‘Other products typically provide reductions of 10-20 per cent,’’ he said. ‘‘Australian research estimates that if just 10 per cent of global ruminant producers adopted Asparagopsis as an additive to feed their livestock, it would have the same impact for our climate as removing 50 million cars.’’
Ardern said the Cawthron Institute made a bid to investigate the seaweed and how it could ‘‘make a major dent in greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture’’.
Cawthron, which is contributing $150,000 towards the project, is collaborating with researchers in Australia and from Waikato University.
The project is starting at a small, pilot scale and, if successful, will lead to further work.
Chief executive Professor Charles Eason said the Cawthron Institute was excited to offer its
‘‘Part of our job is to work out how this could be grown at mass scale.’’ Cawthron Institute chief executive Professor Charles Eason
aquaculture expertise.
‘‘This type of seaweed is native in New Zealand but there is not enough of it to meet the potential demand from farmers, which could be thousands of tonnes each year,’’ Eason said. ‘‘Part of our job is to work out how this could be grown at mass scale in order to meet demand both domestically and globally.’’
The project would build on Cawthron’s algae research. Asparagopsis was just one of several seaweeds and algae with potential.
O’Connor said farmers knew ‘‘better than most’’ about the effects of climate change and many were being innovative to drive down onfarm emissions. ‘‘They need technology like this to help them get there though,’’ he said.
Sustainable agribusiness and transitioning to a low-emissions economy was a major focus for the Coalition Government. ‘‘It is why we established the $40 million a year SFFF fund last year – to invest in projects that deliver economic, environmental and social benefits,’’ O’Connor said. ‘‘Aquaculture is a growth industry for this country and has the potential to play a more significant role in our economy. It is currently worth $600m a year and employs over 3000 people.’’
The Cawthron project could lay the foundations for a new highvalue industry, ‘‘along with the jobs that go with it’’.
‘‘There is also export potential and on-farm economic benefits, including price premiums for milk and meat,’’ O’Connor said.