Grazing cattle given a seaweed supplement produced close to 40 percent less methane than those fed grass alone, a new study found.
The microbes inside cows and sheep produce enormous volumes of methane, a potent heat-trapping gas released in burps and farts. By one estimate, livestock account for close to a third of our methane emissions. And grazing cattle produce more methane than either dairy cattle or feedlot cattle, owing to the fiber found in grass.
Scientists have previously shown that seaweed inhibits an enzyme that contributes to the production of methane, but the new study is the first to test the impact on grazing cattle.
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
Cows fed seaweed pellets at Matador Ranch in Dillon, (Photo Credit: Montana. Paulo de Méo Filho / UC Davis)
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