US – Blue Ocean Barns, a public benefit corporation that is committed to reducing the climate impact of livestock agriculture, has signed feed additive supply deals with three dairy companies -Ben & Jerry’s, Straus Family Creamery, and Clover Sonoma.
The deal encompasses rolling out its natural seaweed supplement for cows supplying the dairy companies as they move to dramatically cut the greenhouse gas footprint of their farm operations.
A few days ago, Ben& Jerry announced it is conducting a pilot on 15 dairy farms split between members of the Dairy Farmers of America cooperative in the US and CONO Kaasmakers in the Netherlands.
Ben& Jerry’s project intends to bring down greenhouse gas emissions to half the industry average by 2024 by using a mixture of new technology and regenerative agricultural practices.
In parallel, Straus Family Creamery signing the deal for the rollout will make it the first organic dairy in the United States to feed Brominata to cows as part of its goal of being carbon neutral by 2023.
It had earlier conducted the first commercial trial using the red seaweed (Asparogopsis taxiformis) on the Straus Organic Dairy Farm and the next phase of the Petaluma will be at Albert Straus’ farm.
Meanwhile, Clover Sonoma has plans to run a 90-day program with the seaweed to demonstrate to its farmers how Brominata can help meet climate goals and increase feed efficiency in cattle.
The Blue Ocean Barns supplement, Brominata, is a dehydrated red seaweed-based supplement with a specific type of seaweed, Asparagopsis that allows cows to retain more energy from their feed instead of burping it into the atmosphere.
As per studies, it has been found that Asparagopsis reduces methane output from cattle by more than 80%, eliminating a greenhouse gas that is at least 28 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
Moreover, research from the University of California, Davis, showed that cattle given a supplement derived from the same seaweed grown by Blue Ocean Barns lowered farmers’ feed requirements by 14% with little to no impact on cattle weight.
As stated by Blue Ocean Barns, the Fermentation and digestion of grass by cows results in 6% to 12% energy loss through gassy burps, which in turn contributes about 2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year, more than 4% of all greenhouse gas emissions globally.
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