New feed reduces methane gas emissions from cows
Methane gas emissions from ruminants are a known issue in the climate debate. Felleskjøpet is now launching a newly developed version of FORMEL Biff (Formula beef) , which has proven to have an impact on economy, animals and climate. Parallel with this launch, all feed from Felleskjøpet will be CO2-declared henceforth.
Methane gas plays a key role in the climate account. According to research.no, the proportion of man-made methane gas in the atmosphere has doubled over the last two centuries. Today, about 60 per cent of methane emissions come from man-made sources, such as fossil fuels, coal, livestock, rice production and landfills. As a feed producer, Felleskjøpet admits responsibility and from September 1, a new version of the ruminant feed series FORMEL Beef is released, which reduces the emission of methane from cattle.
More climate-friendly and efficient cattle
Production of methane in the stomach is an energy-intensive process, and it is estimated that ruminants lose 5-15 percent of the energy in the feed to produce methane. Felleskjøpet has found a solution in Agolin Ruminant that consists of essential oils. The addition inhibits methane production and increases the feed efficiency of animals by 5-8 percent.
– This is a breakthrough on ruminants. We influence and reduce methane production while increasing the utilization of the feed. In practice, this entail that producers get more kilos of meat from the same amount of feed. This means better economy for producers, while making beef production more climate-friendly, says Managing Director of Felleskjøpet Fôrutvikling (Feed Development), Knut Røflo.
A number of scientific feeds have been conducted in Europe that documents the effects of Agolin Ruminant on both bulls and molluscs. Here, the addition has reduced the production of methane gas by 15-20 percent. The trials show that methane emissions are reduced by around 10 kilogram every year.
CO2 declaration of all power feed
Norway wants to cut its greenhouse gas emissions significantly by 2030 and become a low-emission society by 2050. Agriculture plays an important role in achieving this goal. Requirements for more sustainable livestock production and reduction of greenhouse gases are important to the entire industry. Through the project “Climate Smart Agriculture”, which, among other things, works to map emissions related to the operation of the individual farm, Felleskjøpet is working with objectives and better knowledge in this field.
– Felleskjøpet is the farmer’s partner and has an important responsibility on behalf of the entire industry. Therefore we are now launching CO2-declaration on all our power feed variants. Such grips provide opportunities for putting sustainability into an economic system enabling better decision making in climate issues. What can not be measured can not be properly controlled, and this gives us important knowledge to face climate challenges, Røflo explains.
Feed development has contributed greatly to growth in earnings and climate gains in recent years. Better insights into climate change will mean a lot to developing the type of feed that leads to the highest performance and has the least impact on climate.
© Felleskjøpet / Norway Today
