Dr. Leluo Guan, of the University of British Columbia (UBC) was recently awarded $7.9 million in funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). She is the Canada Research Chair in Animal Function Genomics and Microbiome.

Other researchers on the project include Guan’s colleagues from UBC those from the University of Guelph, University of Alberta, University of Manitoba, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Canadian bovine genetics company Semex.

There are products that will reduce methane in cattle, such as Bovaer and some types of seaweed. However, researchers expected to find an improvement in feed efficiency, a benefit to farmers in return for reducing methane, and most of the technologies have not found the expected feed efficiency improvement.

That’s sent research back to the lab to try to figure out more about the hydrogen cycle in the rumen of beef and dairy cattle.

The answer is likely tied to the flow of hydrogen in the rumen.

“All of the stoichiometric equations that we would use to predict energy flow would have predicted that we would have seen that value (improved feed efficiency) in the animal. And we’re very perplexed as to why we haven’t seen that,” said Dr. Tim McAllister, principal research scientist for cattle production with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, based in Lethbridge, Alta.

The five-year study will look at the rumen microbiome and the methane-creation processes that happen there, and aims to find technology and management changes that can make rumen function most efficient. Guan has been conducting research in this area for years.

“We know that rumen microbial fermentation is essential to the growth and development of cattle and that methane formation is a necessary part of that process,” Guan said in a UBC article. “Rather than trying to stop these processes, we want to reduce the amount of methane they generate. In this study, that means looking at diet, nutrition, management and more.”

Data will be examined from more than 10,000 animals across Canada. Guan hopes to analyze the data using metagenomic and machine learning analysis.

“By changing the hydrogen flow from being used for methane synthesis to short chain fatty acids production, we can provide more energy sources for cattle and lower the methane at the same time. By targeting the microbes involved in these pathways, we could ultimately to reach a ‘win-win’ situation,” she said.

The project also includes a deep dive into cattle genetics, one of Dr. Guan’s specialties. University of Guelph has resulted in the ability of Canadian dairy producers to select for more methane-efficient cows.

Guan’s research has shown that rumen microbes can be heritable in beef cattle.

The Canadian beef sector has set a goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2030 and dairy farmers plan to be carbon neutral by 2050.

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“With partners like Ajinomoto Co., we are expanding our toolkit of solutions that we are bringing to our dairy farmers that have a dual effect – on the one hand reducing on farm GHG emissions whilst on the other, supporting farmers to improve their margin, and as a result, boost their resilience,” said Danone’s chief procurement officer Jean-Yves Krummenacher.

Ajinomoto is a Japanese multi-national company selling products ranging from frozen foods to animal nutrition. Danone, a French multi-national, sells a range of dairy and non-dairy foods such as Danone and Oikos yogurts, and International Delight coffee creamer.

The partnership between Ajinomoto and Danone to cut greenhouse gas emissions also comes after six of the world’s largest dairy companies – including Danone – last year unveiled an alliance to cut methane emissions at the United Nations COP28 summit.

Danone and Ajinomoto said they would join up to use an Ajinomoto product called AjiPro®-L.

This is used for a cow’s digestive system and figures cited by the companies said it decreases nitrous oxide emissions from manure by approximately 25 per cent and – if combined with a methane reduction additive – can amplify the effect of the methane reduction additive by approximately 30 per cent.

—Reporting for Reuters by Sudip Kar-Gupta. Additional reporting, editing by Geralyn Wichers.

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The focus on industrial gases follows U.S. measures to reduce methane emissions, which yielded an international campaign to get other countries to make big cuts as well as domestic reductions.

Like methane, nitrous oxide is short-lived but a potent source of global warming, so the U.S. hopes targeting it will yield rapid and inexpensive gains in the fight against climate change.

“Most of the discussion of climate change focuses on carbon dioxide, but super pollutants like methane and nitrous oxide cause half of the climate change we’re experiencing today,” said John Podesta, Senior Adviser to the President for International Climate Policy.

The White House kicked off the effort with an event on Tuesday and announcements by industrial companies, including Ascend Performance Materials, that are taking voluntary actions to cut nitrous oxide emissions, officials said.

Nitrous oxide emissions come from a variety of sources including the production of some fertilizers and synthetic materials such as nylon.

A State Department official told Reuters that it can cost as little as $10 per metric ton to reduce nitrous oxide emissions through projects implemented through the voluntary carbon offset market.

Last year, the U.S. and China agreed to include a commitment to reduce all non-carbon greenhouse gases in their new national climate plans under the Paris climate agreement, which are due to be submitted to the United Nations next year.

Gabrielle Dreyfuss, chief scientist for the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development, said she hoped the two biggest industrial emitters would cooperate on nitrous oxide.

“When the U.S. and China work together, big things can happen,” she said.

Podesta told another event hosted by IGSD, the Asia Society and think tank Climate Advisers that he will travel to China to meet with counterparts “later this year”.

Tuesday’s event also included a commitment of $300 million from philanthropies for the Global Methane Hub, which supports projects to cut methane emissions around the world.

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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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A tax was first proposed in February by government-commissioned experts to help Denmark reach a legally binding 2030 target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent from 1990 levels.

The centrist government late on Monday reached a wide-ranging compromise with farmers, industry, labour unions and environmental groups on policy linked to farming, the country’s largest source of CO2 emissions.

“We will be the first country in the world to introduce a real CO2 tax on agriculture. Other countries will be inspired by this,” Taxation Minister Jeppe Bruus of the centre-left Social Democrats said in a statement on Tuesday.

While subject to approval by parliament, political experts expect a bill to pass following the broad-based consensus.

The deal proposed taxing farmers 300 Danish crowns (C$58.77) per tonne of CO2 in 2030, increasing to 750 crowns (C$146.92) by 2035.

Farmers will be entitled to an income tax deduction of 60 per cent, meaning that the actual cost per tonne will start at 120 crowns and increase to 300 crowns by 2035, while subsidies will be made available to support adjustments in farm operations.

The tax could add an extra cost of 2 crowns per kilo (2.2 pounds) of minced beef in 2030, Minister for Economic Affairs Stephanie Lose told public broadcaster DR. Minced beef retails from around 70 crowns per kilo (C$13.71) at Danish discount stores.

New Zealand this month scrapped plans to introduce a similar tax after facing criticism from farmers.

But while Danish farmers had expressed concerns that the country’s climate goals could force them to lower production and cut jobs, they said the compromise makes it possible to maintain their business.

“The agreement brings clarity when it comes to significant parts of the farmers’ conditions,” the L&F agriculture industry group said.

—Additional reporting by Alison Withers and Stine Jacobsen

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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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Denmark, a major dairy exporter, could become the first country in the world to price agricultural emissions, including methane emissions from burping cows, a move that has broad political backing.

Methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is a natural byproduct of digestion in cows and other ruminants that is released into the atmosphere.

The Nordic country has pledged to reduce emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels.

More than half of Denmark’s land is farmed, with agriculture accounting for about a third of the country’s carbon emissions, according to Danish climate think tank Concito.

Farming has not yet been subject to any climate regulations, but the industry has expressed concerns that a carbon tax would force them to reduce production and close farms.

Instead, farmers and the dairy industry have advocated the use of additives that stop the fermentation process inside the cows’ stomach, preventing the production of methane.

The government set aside 518 million Danish crowns (C$101.9 million) to finance the feed additive, which is expected to reduce methane emissions from the country’s roughly 550,000 dairy cows by 30 per cent in 2030.

Such additives have been met with skepticism from Danish politicians and animal welfare groups, as it is still unclear whether it would meet Danish animal welfare standards.

Netherlands-based nutrition company Royal DSM had a feed additive approved by the EU in 2022.

This type of feed additive, sometimes called by trade name Bovaer, was approved for use in Canada early this year to general approval from beef and dairy groups.

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