Bringing down GHG Emissions with sustainable cattle feed

Livestock produce significant amounts of methane as part of their normal digestive processes. Some feed additives can inhibit the microorganisms that produce methane in the rumen and subsequently reduce methane emissions. The amount of methane emitted by livestock is primarily driven by the number of animals, the type of digestive system they have and the type and amount of feed consumed. Ruminants are the principal source of livestock methane emissions because they produce the most methane per unit of feed consumed. Researchers have come up with techniques to reduce livestock greenhouse gas emissions that may also increase livestock productivity and resilience. These technologies are more likely to reduce the intensity of emissions, rather than total emissions, and so opportunities to benefit financially from creating offsets may be limited.

According to latest report of FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) of the United Nations, the livestock sector is a major contributor to climate change. It is estimated that the sector emits about 7.1 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent (Co2eq.), about 18 per cent of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. It is estimated that improving livestock productivity will reduce emissions per unit of livestock product by 20 to 30 per cent.

By using different types of sustainable cattle feed ingredients, eco-friendly varieties of corn and other crops, seaweed based feed and cattle wearables, methane emission from livestock can be reduced to a large extent. Sustainable cattle feed is expected to become the next generation feed for the animal nutrition industry. Ten per cent of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions come from livestock, especially ruminants such as cattle, which produce methane (CH4) as part of their normal digestive processes. Use of sustainable cattle feed is one of the effective ways to reduce the environmental footprint of livestock greenhouse gas. Considering the increasing percentage of greenhouse gas emissions across the world, major animal nutrition companies and organisations such as Royal DSM, Syngenta Seeds, Cargill, Sysco, University of California,

University of Arkansas Resilience Centre (UARC) and many others have started investing in research and development of sustainable feed for livestock.

Feed ingredient

Royal DSM, a global science-based company active in health, nutrition and sustainable living, has developed a feed ingredient to reduce enteric methane formation in ruminants by over 30 per cent on average. The ingredient is scientifically called 3-NOP and is considered a breakthrough technology that inhibits methane formation in

the rumen of cattle. A 2-year large-scale trial in beef cattle in Alberta, Canada has successfully demonstrated that a novel feed ingredient, developed by Royal DSM, can be included in commercial feedlot diets to reduce methane emissions by up to 80 per cent, without negative effects on animal health and performance parameters and carcass characteristics. This was the largest and longest trial for methane reduction in beef to date. The trial alone already reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 1473 tonnes CO2E.

The trial was conducted by a Canadian Research Consortium consisting of Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Feedlot Health Management Services, Viresco Solutions, and DSM Nutritional Products, and with support from the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association. Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) committed $1.5 million to this $3 million project through its Methane Challenge. The project was recognized for having positive implications for the province due to the fact that 70 per cent of Canada’s cattle production happens in Alberta. With 15,000 cattles included in the trial, it represents the largest single trial conducted on methane reduction technologies for ruminants.

Mark van Nieuwland, Program Director at DSM said, “We see the demand for low carbon beef and dairy products increasing globally. We are therefore very proud that our methane reduction solution has proven to be highly effective at scale and with this level of impact. This is the largest cattle trial DSM has ever contributed to with over 15,000 cattle tested.

Our solution showcases DSM'S purpose-led, performance driven strategy. We are very grateful also to ERA and the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association for their generous financial support to make this trial a reality and to deliver true impact for the planet’s future”.

Seaweed based feed

Researchers from animal health universities across the world are also studying the feed ingredients that can lower the level of greenhouse gas emissions. According to new findings from researchers at the University of California, Davis, a bit of seaweed in cattle feed could reduce methane emissions from beef cattle by as much as 82 per cent.

"We now have sound evidence that seaweed in cattle diets is effective at reducing greenhouse gases and that the efficacy does not diminish over time," said Ermias Kebreab, professor and Sesnon Endowed Chair of the Department of Animal Science and director of the World Food Center. Kebreab and Roque are building on their earlier work with dairy cattle, which was the world's first experiment reported that used seaweed in cattle. In the new study, Kebreab and Roque tested whether those reductions were sustainable over time by feeding cows a touch of seaweed every day for five months, from the time they were young on the range through their later days on the feedlot.

Corn feed

Major agriculture companies are collaborating for research and development of sustainable animal feed. Syngenta Seeds, in partnership with the University of Arkansas Resilience Centre (UARC), unveiled newly published research highlighting the potential for beef producers to reduce their environmental footprint by using Enogen corn for feed from Syngenta Seeds.

Enogen corn for feed, fed to cattle as grain or silage, helps convert starch to sugar more efficiently, resulting in more readily available energy for livestock. The purpose of the UARC study was to evaluate the performance of Enogen corn for feed – compared to conventional feed corn – when used as an ingredient in their operations. The life cycle assessment was conducted by Drs Greg Thoma, Marty Matlock and Martin Christy at the UARC.

The UARC findings indicate that an improvement in feed efficiency – as demonstrated in University of Nebraskalincoln (UNL) feeding trials2 – results in approximately 6 per cent improvement in the four key environmental performance metrics of

beef production. The observed environmental performance improvement during the backgrounding phase – as seen in Kansas State University (KSU) trials2 – was in the 3.5-5 per cent range, which suggests Enogen corn for feed is an important potential technology for mitigation of environmental impact in this phase of beef production, as well.

Sustainable grazing practices

Sysco and Cargill have announced partnership with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) that will help ranchers in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Kansas and Colorado tackle the impacts of climate change and improve grasslands and wildlife habitat by creating one of the largest sustainable beef cattle grazing efforts in the nation.

Through a public-private partnership, $5 million in funding from Sysco and Cargill will accelerate the implementation of sustainable grazing practices over the next five years across 1 million acres in the Southern Great Plains, an area responsible for approximately 30 per cent of the beef produced in the United States.

Cattle wearables

In order to provide a solution for growing methane emission concerns from livestock, Cargill and ZELP (Zero Emission Livestock Project) have jointly developed combining technology in methane oxidation and data processing to minimize the environmental impact of dairy production while improving animal welfare.

Enteric methane is a natural by-product of cattle digesting feed, which is then released from the mouth and nose. Using smart technology, ZELP developed a cattle wearable that neutralizes part of this methane as it is exhaled. As much as 95 per cent of an animal’s methane emissions come from its mouth and nostrils. The ZELP technology, which easily attaches to regular halters, captures and oxidizes those emissions.

“Farmers and agribusiness are looking for ways to drive methane mitigation and change for our planet, while meeting the challenge of feeding a growing population. By partnering with ZELP, we are in a unique position to help significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock production”, said Delphine Melchior, sustainability and quality sector director for Cargill’s aqua and animal nutrition business.

By using different types of sustainable cattle feed ingredients, eco-friendly varieties of corn and other crops, seaweed based feed and Cattle wearables, Methane emission from livestock can be reduced to a large extent. Sustainable cattle feed will become the next generation feed for the animal nutrition industry.

"We now have sound evidence that seaweed in cattle diets is effective at reducing greenhouse gases and that the efficacy does not diminish over time".

- Ermias Kebreab, Professor and Sesnon Endowed Chair of the Department of Animal Science and Director, World

Food Center

“Farmers and agribusiness are looking for ways to drive methane mitigation and change for our planet, while meeting the challenge of feeding a growing population. By partnering with ZELP, we are in a unique position to help significantly reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock production”.

- Delphine Melchior, Sustainability and Quality Sector Director, Cargill’s

Aqua and Animal Nutrition Business

“We see the demand for low carbon beef and dairy products increasing globally. We are therefore very proud that our methane reduction solution has proven to be highly effective at scale and with this level of impact. This is the largest cattle trial DSM has ever contributed to with over 15,000 cattle tested. Our solution showcases DSM'S purposeled, performance driven strategy. We are very grateful also to ERA and the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association for their generous financial support to make this trial a reality and to deliver true impact for the planet’s future”.

- Mark van Nieuwland, Programme Director, DSM