Seaweed for American cows as a methane inhibitor

California is making the fastest move in the United States on plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions. The state on the west coast, which also has the largest dairy herd, wants to have 2030% fewer greenhouse gas emissions by 40 than in 1990. Methane emissions must be reduced a little faster. By 2030, this must be 40% lower than in 2013. That is quite a task, which everyone must contribute to.

In the United States, most of the methane emissions come from the oil and gas industry. Then comes cattle farming. An emission reduction of 30% for the United States amounts to about 2 million tons of methane, which is equivalent to the emissions of ten million cars per year, it has been calculated.

Search for best local seaweed species
The cattle farming industry believes it can combat emissions mainly by using red seaweed. The most effective is the use of the Australian seaweed species Asparagopsis taxiformis. This could reduce emissions by 90%, but use of that species in the United States is seen as less desirable for ecological reasons, among other things. It could become an 'invasive species'.

That is why attention is paid to native species. Various parties believe that these can also reduce methane emissions by more than 50%. And that's not all. Using seaweed can have the side effect of improving feed utilization by an average of 10%, researchers and companies claim. 

Bovaer and garlic
Other options to reduce ammonia emissions in particular are also discussed. The Americans also look at Bovaer and the use of other additives, such as mixes of garlic and citrus products. Yet most attention is paid to seaweed-based products. This raw material is widely available, can be obtained relatively close by and is not expensive.