Agriculture Victoria and an Australian agriculture company are set to test whether higher doses of a biological feed supplement will lead to a greater reduction in methane emissions and improve productivity in lambs and dairy cows.
Scientists from Agriculture Victoria recently published a 2021 study which showed 10ml of Terragen’s probiotic feed supplement, Mylo, reduced the intensity of methane emissions in dairy cows by more than seven per cent after 35 days.
Agriculture Victoria research director in animal production sciences Professor Joe Jacobs said the reduction in methane was “a good starting point”.
“We are interested in seeing if reductions in methane can be improved further,” Prof Jacobs said.
“One option is to feed the existing liquid formulation at a higher rate and see if further mitigation effects are possible.
“The second is to develop a stable dry formulation that can be activated just before or when feeding.”
Prof Jacobs said Agriculture Victoria wanted a greater understanding of whether supplementing the feed for lactating dairy cows or growing lambs with Mylo improved overall animal performance while reducing the animal’s methane emissions when compared to a supplement that did not contain Mylo.
“The study undertaken in 2021 was the first study in this recent program of research, noting Agriculture Victoria has a long history in methane mitigation work, having previously investigated a range of by-products and common supplements for their mitigation potential,” he said.
“In fact, key research findings from Ellinbank on feeding fat to dairy cows to reduce enteric methane production underpins one of the only two validated emissions reduction methodologies available for the dairy industry.”
Terragen chief operations officer Joss West said since any ruminant could produce methane, exploring further reductions in methane in a wider range of animals was “a great opportunity”.
“Our team is eager for Mylo to be studied using lambs at Hamilton in western Victoria, and dairy cows — again at Australia’s pre-eminent dairy research facility, the Victorian Government Ellinbank SmartFarm in Gippsland,” Dr West said.
“We will test whether elevated doses of our Mylo reduce methane production in lambs and lead to further reductions in methane in dairy cows.”
The probiotic, which uses a proprietary blend of three Lactobacillus strains, water and molasses, was shown to lift milk production, improve feed conversion efficiency and put weight on cows.
Meanwhile, a peer-reviewed University of Queensland study from 2018 showed calves on Mylo grew eight per cent more quickly than animals not supplemented with the liquid product.
Dr West said when most people thought of methane in the agricultural sphere, they pictured emissions only coming from cows, but any ruminant animal could produce methane from feed fermenting in their rumen.
“The amount of methane a ruminant animal produces can often be attributed to its diet,” she said.
The lamb study aims to feed controlled amounts of Terragen’s supplement to around 200 individual prime lambs while grazing in pasture.
“It’s hoped Mylo will produce higher growth rates, a heavier carcase weight, improve feed conversion efficiency, reduce methane emissions, and result in reduced methane intensity per kg of lamb produced from each hectare of pasture,” she said.
Meanwhile in the dairy element of the study, a treated group will consume a significantly elevated dose of Mylo.
As part of the Methane Emissions Reductions in Livestock scheme, the Federal Government is providing $615,000 for Agriculture Victoria’s upcoming study on Mylo, while Terragen and New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra have also contributed to the cost.
Dr West said more than 60,000 dairy cows that are on Mylo in Australia each day would equate to more than 17,000 tonnes in carbon dioxide equivalent emissions not entering the atmosphere over one year, with the methane instead converting into energy for the animal.