CH4, the Agritech start-up based in Nevada in the US that has been investigating how to inject a seaweed by-product into cattle feed to slash their methane emissions, has released its first product to market.
The digestive aid feed formulation is made from the asparagopsis plant – a type of red seaweed that has been demonstrated to reduce methane emissions by up to 90 per cent without compromising animal welfare or the quality or taste of the beef produced, according to a statement from CH4.
CH4 will sell its product, known as “Methane Tamer” to Australian beef farmers through its partners CirPro and Ravensworth and said it is currently negotiating with other commercial-scale feedlot groups. After being introduced to Australia and New Zealand, CH4 plans to expand globally in a few years’ time.
Food producer CirPro served its first steaks from asparagopsis-fed cattle in September 2022.
The red seaweed will be sourced from CH4’s seaweed farms in South Australia and New Zealand.
The company now plans to develop similar products for other ruminant animals that belch methane as part of their normal digestive process. These include grazing cattle used for dairy, sheep and goats. Ruminant animals produce 30 per cent of global methane emissions, which are more destructive to the earth’s atmosphere than carbon dioxide.
CH4 will produce the feed supplement from asparagopsis using the entire plant at a production plant in South Australia, and is also developing what it terms an “EcoPark” to produce the digestive aid in New Zealand.
Last October, CH4 signed an MoU with Siemens to develop automation technology, including the ability to create a digital twin of its facilities before the company moves into full production to help it minimise waste from the process.
In the 2020 study that demonstrated the ability of seaweed to reduce methane emissions in cattle, Asparagopsis was fed to Brahman-Angus cows mixed in with their usual feed at concentrations of 0.00 per cent, 0.05 per cent, 0.10 per cent and 0.20 per cent.
The cows were held in respiration chambers on a fortnightly basis for 90 days where their methane emissions were measured. Those receiving 0.10 per cent and 0.20 per cent Asparagopsis decreased methane emissions by up to 40 per cent and 98 per cent, and also gained more weight than cows receiving lower concentrations in their feed.
A 2022 Commonwealth Bank and Agrifutures study found that a $1.62 billion industry could be created if all Australian farmers moved to incorporate asapragopsis into their cattles’ diets, which would require 26,500 tonnes annually. Seaweed can also be used to sequester carbon.
There’s more growth in the market
Sea Forest and SeaStock are also cultivating and processing asparagopsis for use in livestock feed. Sea Forest’s asparagopsis product is being used to feed cattle owned by Grill’d burger restaurants. Future Feed – a business with backing from Woolworths, Andrew Forrest and the CSIRO – has agreed to purchase seaweed from the growers to manufacture its own asparagopsis livestock feed additive.
While mass adoption of asparagopsis could drastically reduce Australia’s methane emissions from agriculture, it will not completely solve the issue of livestock’s environmental footprint. Land used to grow livestock could be used to grow food for humans, and increasing land area for livestock often involves deforestation. Agricultural production is responsible for up to 80 per cent of global deforestation, according to Greenpeace.