How Feeding Cows with Seaweed Can Help Reduce Methane
Do you know that cows will produce 82% less methane when their feed gets mixed with a small amount of seaweed?
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, which indefinitely encapsulates heat in the atmosphere. It is an element that is 25 times stronger to trap heat than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The methane production comes from the microbes in the cows’ stomachs, which are produced during the fermentation process of their fibrous food.
There was already a vaccination against these gut microbes, and what happened behind their stomach linings was disruptive to conventional farming. However, vaccinations can be rather expensive for farmers in some parts of the world, hence incorporating seaweed into their feed seems like a more viable solution here.
Professor Ermias Kebreab, an animal scientist, had proven once in his research that mixing alfalfa and hay then heavily spiking them with seaweed molasses in cows’ feed helped reduce its methane production. While it does not affect these cows’ milk production, it also managed to combat 50% of the cows’ methane production. The research finding can potentially improve the quality of the dairy industry as well.
Using this research, EX Venture saw an opportunity to optimize the usage of seaweed in Indonesia. The country’s livelihoods had been heavily relying on agriculture, livestock, as well as aquaculture for centuries. The nation produces one of the most significant quantities of Kappaphycus alvarezii (commonly called cottonii), Kappaphycus striatum (sacol), Eucheuma denticulatum (spinosum), and Gracilaria species. When the seaweed gets boiled, it releases carrageenan and agar, two substances commonly integrated into beauty products, pharmaceuticals, foodstuff, and even fertilizers. The simplicity in retrieving these ingredients out of seaweed skyrockets its functionality to fame, giving seaweed export a contributing role in the nation’s economy.
EX Venture’s CEO, Julien Uhlig, said that EX Venture could help Indonesia conduct a circular economy with all its natural resources. Uhlig had built a plan to include the local communities in the seaweed farm and empower them with modern agricultural education and technology.
“We would like to build an optimized farm that captures carbon dioxide from the seawater and will de-acidify the ocean eventually,” Uhlig said, “And for this purpose, we are inviting other startups to join us to technologize this initiative.”
He also confirmed that mixing seaweed into livestock food had been relatively effortless, and Kebreab’s research supported the statement. Besides, Indonesia had become one of the most significant methane contributors by coals.
“We will work with multiple local farmers to feed cows with a mixture of seaweed and other fibrous food they normally eat,” Uhlig said, “This will help the country to reduce its methane production while nurturing a healthier dairy industry.”
EX Venture also plans to collaborate with the Indonesian government and other startups to optimize this farm’s distribution. Uhlig intended this farm to both have environmental benefits while empowering the local communities.
“The ultimate goal of this farm is to create automated farming operations, which will be initially labor-intensive, yet eventually enrich biodiversity, “Uhlig continued, “We aim to build a sustainable seaweed farming, both for the environment and economy.”
Read more about EX Venture’s other projects here.
