The world’s most effective livestock methane solution: Asparagopsis seaweed

We continue to seek partners to drive adoption of this important technology. If you have a commercial interest related to seaweed cultivation, aggregation or processing, please contact us.

Established by CSIRO, FutureFeed holds global IP for the use of Asparagopsis seaweed as a livestock feed ingredient, shown to lower ruminant methane emissions by 80% or more. We continue to develop technologies to expand the impact of this decarbonisation solution.

FutureFeed’s solution

Asparagopsis seaweed contains bioactives that interrupt the microbes in a cow’s stomach that form methane. The seaweed is manufactured into a freeze-dried powder or an edible oil. Only a small amount of this feed material needs to be included in a cattle’s feed to dramatically reduce methane emissions.

A decade of science has shown this to be a safe and effective feed ingredient for livestock.

Since 2020, FutureFeed has been driving commercialsation of Asparagopsis technology. FutureFeed continues research and product development to support adoption of this innovation.

The cow burp problem

Enteric methane - predominantly cow burps - makes up an astounding 5.5% of all anthropogenic (human-caused) greenhouse gas emissions.[1] This is greater than the contribution of the aviation industry![2]

Methane is better at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, with 28 times the global warming potential on a 100-year scale.[3] However, it only has an atmospheric lifespan of 12 years.[4] This means if we reduce methane emissions now, we can reduce the agricultural industry’s contribution to global warming in the near term.

Contrary to popular belief, it is 90 - 95% burps, and only a small percentage of methane from the rear end.

[1] FAO; [2] Lee, 2020; [3] FAO; [4] CCAC.

 Developed by globally recognised research leaders