The Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge was announced back in November, and received 86 applications, both Canadian and international, a federal news release said.

The semi-finalists will receive up to $153,846 and will move on to the prototype development phase of the challenge. Finalists will be chosen next spring.

The semi-finalists are:

• AbacusBio’s entry is a tool that selects beef sires based on predicted progeny enteric methane footprint.
• Agropur proposed a feed strategy that uses a dry-extrusion, linseed-based feed ingredient for dairy cow rations.
• Ample Agriculture is developing a feed additive that reduces methane-producing organisms in the rumen.
• ArkeaBio is developing a vaccine to reduce enteric methane production.
• Mon Systeme Fourrager is working on a “decision support tool” for forage systems to help producers adopt methane-reducing strategies.
• Pond Technologies uses a feed additive that reduces methane emissions and makes more energy from feed available to cattle, leading to faster growth or more milk production.
• Semex proposes to develop a breeding protocol and incentive strategy for farmers to incorporate selection for low methane genetics into their breeding programs, and to measure, record and verify methane reductions over time.
• Sustainable Bio Security Inc. uses ozone to decrease methane production through “improving the overall health in dairy farms.”
• TerraWave Radar Solutions uses radio waves to monitor soil quality to identify richer soil areas for optimized grazing.
• Université Laval uses biofiltration, which involves passing exhaust air through an organic substrate to turn methane into carbon dioxide and water vapour.
• WaterPuris uses textile ECG sensors and oxygenated nanobubble water technology to improve overall animal health.
• University of Saskatchewan is evaluating the impact of identifying and selecting genetic traits that allow cattle to eat and digest more fibre while potentially producing less methane.
• University of Saskatchewan is also evaluating various products delivered through drinking water systems as a practical method to reduce enteric emissions in beef cattle grazing systems.

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Elanco Animal Health is licensed to market Bovaer in North America. Canada cleared the feed additive and its active ingredient, 3NOP, earlier this year.

One tablespoon of Bovaer per lactating dairy cow a day can reduce methane emissions by about 30 per cent, or about 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, the company said. Bovaer works by suppressing the enzyme in a cow’s rumen, part of its stomach, that forms methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

The feed ingredient would help dairy food companies to buy carbon credits from their own farms and create a value stream of $20 a cow, Elanco CEO Jeffrey Simmons told Reuters.

Feeding one million cows Bovaer would reduce emissions equivalent to removing more than 285,000 cars from the road for a year, Elanco estimated.

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Bovaer neutralizes methane in the rumen. When microbes in the rumen break down feed, hydrogen and carbon dioxide are released. These two gases are combine in the presence of an enyzme. Bovaer works by suppressing the enzyme, reducing the amount of methane that is created.

Dsm-firmenich, the Dutch company selling the product says it could be available in Canada within a few weeks.

The feed additive will be a tool for farmers to reduce methane emissions for cattle, but Canadian research has also shown a small increase in feed efficiency and no change in cattle growth rate.

“This will benefit Canadian farmers, efforts of the sector, and support Canada in delivering on its international emissions reduction commitments such as the Global Methane Pledge,” says Mark van Nieuwland, vice-president of Bovaer.

Canadian cattle feeders can reduce methane emissions by an average of 45 per cent by using the ingredient, says the company.

In the case of dairy cows, Bovaer can “reduce methane emissions by 30 per cent on average, potentially lowering the overall greenhouse gas footprint per liter of milk by 10 to 15 per cent.”

A trial run in large trial run in Alberta provided Canadian data to support the approval of Bovaer.

“In 2020, dsm-firmenich successfully completed the longest and largest trial with Bovaer,” said van Nieuwland. “(It was) a two-year trial with 15,000 beef cattle in Alberta and supported by ERA (Emission Reduction Alberta), which demonstrated methane reductions of up to 82 per cent, resulting in savings of 1,473 tons of CO2e during this study alone.”

The company says that once the product is included as a tool in programs such as the Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions (REME) protocol for beef cattle and the Alberta Fed Cattle protocol, cattle feeders will also be able to generate carbon offsets from its use. The authorization comes on the heels of the CFIA approval of 3-Nitrooxypropanol (3NOP) — the active ingredient in Bovaer — earlier this week.

“We are very pleased to see the regulatory pathway open for innovative feed ingredients that reduce methane emissions which will contribute to our sector meeting its 2030 emissions goal,” says Nathan Phinney, Canadian Cattle Association president.

“We applaud the CFIA for their diligence on this file to ensure this new tool is available, which will allow Canadian beef producers to remain competitive globally.”

According to the CCA/National Cattle Feeders’ Association release, 3NOP has shown no negative impacts on the rumen microbial population when fed to cattle.

The Canadian beef industry has set a goal to reduce primary production greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions intensity by 33 per cent by 2030. Dairy Farmers of Canada has a goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Karen Beauchemin, retired Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) research scientist, was a key player in the Canadian research.

“I think beef producers are interested in doing their part, but just focusing on enteric methane emissions is not going to get Canada where it needs to be by 2030,” said Beauchemin, in a 2022 interview with Canadian Cattlemen. She worked with AAFC’s Lethbridge research station.

Enteric methane emissions from cattle contribute 3.3 per cent of Canada’s total GHG emissions.

“One thing I find with consumers is they have a real misconception about how much enteric methane from animals contributes to our national greenhouse gas budget,” said Beauchemin in the article.

The product has been approved in more than 50 countries in the world, but as of early 2024, not yet in the United States.

—Jeff Melchior writes for the Alberta Farmer Express. 

–updated Feb. 1 to add additional details, context.

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