To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (i) for his assessment of the efficacy of methane-lowering animal feed supplements; and (ii) to detail any steps he has taken to encourage farmers to use such supplements to contribute to lowering the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions.

There are no methane-lowering feed supplements on the market in the UK at present. However, in some parts of the world there are a range of supplements which are recently released or under development, with some more advanced than others. Research findings indicate that the supplements offer a range of potential to reduce enteric methane emissions from ~10% up to over 80%.

The feed additive 3-Nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) for ruminants (cattle, sheep, goats, deer, and other ruminants) has been researched and developed over 10 years by the Dutch company Royal DSM. Results indicate that using a quarter teaspoon daily in a cow’s diet reduced enteric methane emission by approximately 30%. DSM has filed for commercial registration of 3-NOP under the trade name Bovaer® and currently await EU approval.

A livestock feed additive made from the seaweed Asparagopsis sp. has been shown to reduce methane emissions in beef and dairy cattle by more than 80 % in research trials in Australia and the USA. Further research is underway and a company has been formed to scale up and commercialise a product made from Asparagopsis sp.

Other products of note include the garlic and citric acid based supplement Mootral™ being developed by a Swiss company, that has been shown to reduce enteric methane emissions by between 23% and 30% in on farm research and Agolin® Ruminant, a plant-based feed additive produced by another Swiss company that is claimed to reduce methane emissions from cattle by between 10% and 20%.

Locally, AFBI Hillsborough is currently undertaking a range of projects which aim to develop mitigation strategies for lower enteric methane emissions in dairy, beef cattle and sheep production, though dietary inclusions of seaweed additives, oil, white/red clover, multispecies forage, etc.

AFBI is also investing in infrastructure (using DAERA funding) that will improve their capacity to develop effective methane lowering strategies for adoption on NI cattle/sheep farms. This will enable research, in collaboration with Queens University Belfast, which will identify potential methane-reducing candidates and trial successful products through a forthcoming ruminant emissions research facility. Uptake on Farm will then be encouraged by CAFRE and through working with the local feed industry, using the confidence from the scientific studies conducted in AFBI and QUB.