NEW ZEALAND – New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra and Royal DSM, a global science-based company, have signed a collaboration agreement to accelerate the transition to lower methane agriculture.
Methane is a major challenge for the agriculture sector, particularly in New Zealand, where it makes up almost half of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions.
Finding and applying solutions that would significantly contribute to achieving Paris Agreement commitments and New Zealand Zero-Carbon goals is thus a key priority for both companies.
Use of Bovaer to cut methane emissions
To this end, DSM has developed a feed additive, called Bovaer®, which effectively and consistently reduces methane emissions from cows by over 30%.
The solution has recently been featured by the World Resources Institute as one of the ten global break-through technologies that can help to feed the world sustainably.
A trial at the Dairy Campus from Wageningen Livestock Research in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, has also successfully demonstrated that Bovaer® can be included in dairy cow diets to significantly reduce methane emissions.
According to the trial, the emission reductions vary from 27% up to 40% of methane per cow, depending on the diets and the amount of methane inhibitor in the feed.
Fonterra Group Director Farm Source Richard Allen expressed his excitement towards the cooperation adding that the Bovaer® feed additive was a breakthrough solutions for farmers seeking to address the methane challenge.
Over the past five years DSM and Fonterra have been working in New Zealand on identifying solutions for a feed additive approach in pasture-based farming systems.
By signing this agreement, Fonterra and DSM are moving to the next step in their collaboration to accelerate their joint efforts to make Bovaer® available to New Zealand farmers.
DSM in confidence notes that the Bovaer will enable New Zealand to continue to take a leadership role in low carbon dairy production.
Reducing emissions from livestock
The partnership with Fonterra follows DSM’s launch of its sustainability platform ‘Reducing emissions from livestock’.
The sustainability platform is a commitment from DSM to reducing emissions from livestock in direct support of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 13, Climate Action.
Under the sustainability platform Reducing emissions from livestock, DSM is offering innovative solutions that specifically target carbon emissions.
The innovative solutions include ProAct; for poultry, VevoVitall; for swine, HiPhos, Bovaer; for cows, and Digestarom.
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