One of the biggest challenges in food production is ensuring supplies while also doing more to protect the environment. It is especially challenging for dairy and beef. However, a new supplement may have the solution. Adding it to animal feed could have a huge impact. We want to look at this today and a new trial with one of the UK’s biggest supermarkets and a leading milk producer.

Methane

The problem with cattle is they produce a lot of methane. Their diet is high in fibre and they generate the gas as they digest it. Therefore, as funny as it sounds, cattle burps and manure lead to global warming. Globally, cows and other agricultural animals produce a massive 14% of the greenhouse gas emissions.

Sadly, as populations grow and demand for food increases, farmers need to raise more animals. This has a direct impact on the environment, leading to even more emissions.

A potential solution

Interestingly, there is a new supplement Bovaer that could have a solution. The idea is it suppresses the enzymes that produce the methane during digestion. This reduces the amount of gas without having an impact on animal welfare.

In tests, Bovaer can achieve a 30% reduction in methane. That could save a massive 1.3 tonnes of the gas annually per cow. If it could then be rolled out to all cattle farmers in the world, it would make production less harmful to the environment.

Trial

Tesco is currently doing a four month trial run of adding Bovaer to animal feed with one of their biggest suppliers, Grosvenor Farms. They will try it on a herd of 400 cows to see the impact on methane, milk quality, and animal welfare.

If successful, the aim is to then roll out the supplement to Grosvenor Farms as a whole. The estimate is this could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a huge 12%. It would hopefully inspire other diary farmers and cattle farmers to use it.

Tesco and Grosvenor both have high hopes for the trial. They believe if it is a success it would help both businesses to significantly reduce emissions. This would go a long way to helping them to achieve their shared ambitions to be net zero. Grosvenor is aiming to achieve this by 2030.

Do you want some help with animal feed?

JS Hubbuck Ltd has been supplying feeds for different animals for many years. Our goal is to give clients access to high quality products so they can ensure the health and welfare of each animal. We can even offer product details and advice to help people decide what they need.

So, if you want animal feed, speak to us to see what we currently have in stock. If you purchase, we’ll arrange delivery.