AUSTRALIA— Australian climate technology company Rumin8, has commenced a livestock trial at the University of New England to determine dietary preferences in cattle to support the incorporation of its methane reducing feed additive.
Rumin8 says that its technology represents a significant leap forward, because it reproduces the methane-reducing bioactive contained in red seaweed, but via a pharmaceutical process that is more efficient and scalable to produce without requiring large seaweed harvests.
Rumin8 also expects that its products will have significant productivity benefits for farmers, as energy normally lost to methane production is instead converted into higher growth rates.
“Livestock contribute an estimated six per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions through methane production. If we can reduce those emissions, it has a big impact, not just on the planet, but also on the long-term sustainability of the world’s livestock industries and the rural communities which rely on them,” Rumin8 Managing Director David Messina said.
The new study is looking to determine which ration cattle find more palatable and more likely to eat, and how the formulation they choose impacts reductions in methane generation.
Livestock contribute an estimated six per cent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions through methane production. If we can reduce those emissions, it has a big impact, not just on the planet, but also on the long-term sustainability of the world’s livestock industries and the rural communities which rely on them
Dubbed the ‘calfeteria trial’, the study aims to determine which ration cattle find more palatable and more likely to eat, and how the formulation they choose impacts reductions in methane generation.
The cattle in the trial will be provided the choice of a total mix ration containing three different treatments of Rumin8’s anti-methanogenic product, as well as a control product.
“If cattle won’t eat a ration because they don’t like a particular dose rate or formulation, then it doesn’t matter how effective the feed additive is at reducing methane generation because it won’t be ingested by the animal and farmers won’t use it because it limits weight gain in their cattle,” said Messina.
The trial will help inform efficacy, dosing and palatability decisions as Rumin8 moves from in vitro to in vivo trials.
Rumin8 revealed Invitro trials of its first product at the University of Western Australia reduced methane production in sheep by more than 90 percent by day three, with almost total elimination by day five.
Rumin8 has generated AUS$7 million in capital in July this year. US-based Prelude Ventures and the Aware Super Sentient WA Growth Fund managed by Australian-based Sentient Impact Group, contributed the equity funding.
In June the company revealed it had also received a US$650,000 grant from AusIndustry’s Entrepreneur’s Program to accelerate the commercialization of its feed additives.
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