Methane inhibitors for grazing herds still two years away

There has been a lot of interest in methane inhibitors for use on ruminants on Irish dairy and beef farms.

But it appears that farmers and industry will have to wait another couple of years before an effective product is available for grass-based farms.

DSM, the company behind Bovaer, currently the only methane inhibitor licenced in Ireland, held a conference in the Killashee hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare this week (Thursday, January 26).

Speaking at the event was Dennis Rijnders from DSM, who said that the company is two years away from having a product that will be effective on grass-based farms.

Methane inhibitors

Rijnders explained that Bovaer has no positive or negative effects in terms of milk production, it only has an environmental impact.

Bovaer is currently being fed to 30,000 dairy cows and 50,000 beef cattle.

Its active ingredient is 3NOP, the abbreviated name for 3-Nitroovypropanol, an organic compound that inhibits the enzyme methyl coenzyme M reductase (MCR).

MCR causes the final step in creating methane by microbes in the stomach of ruminant animals.

A number of studies have shown that in a total mixed ration (TMR) feeding system, it can reduce emissions from dairy cows by 30%.

However, the product is only effective for three hours, which means that for grazing herds, the product will only be effective for the first three hours at grass after which the effect of the product is gone.

Whereas with a TMR, the cow has continued access to the feed at the barrier.

Speaking at the event, Rijnders said: “We are working on a slow-release product for markets such as Ireland and New Zealand.

“This product is in development, but we will still need two more years before this product will be available.”

Commenting further, Rijnders said: “Technically, we have solutions for it, but we need to find the right way of getting it into the chain and getting it in a slow-release form without adding too much cost.”