A large-scale pilot project to explore the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in dairy cows has commenced, involving Dutch dairy company, FrieslandCampina, and global science-based company, Royal DSM (DSM).

The pilot project features DSM’s feed additive, Bovaer, which is said to reduce methane emissions from cows by around 30%.

Feed additive effectiveness
Bovaer is a feed additive for cows, and other ruminants, that was developed by DSM over 10 years. The company states that just a quarter of a teaspooon of the product added daily to each cow’s feed will enable a consistent reduction in methane emissions of 30%, on average. Since the end of last year, Bovaer, has been approved for use in Brazil and Chile, and, in February 2022, it also received EU approval.

Following EU approval, the companies wasted no time in launching this GHG-related project, with Dutch feed supplier, Agrifirm, supplying the feed additive to participating farmers.

Some 200 FrieslandCampina dairy farms in the Netherlands will take part in the pilot in the second half of 2022. Providing the results are positive, the use of Bovaer will be further upscaled from 2023.

Through innovations like this, Dutch dairy farmers can build on sustainability improvements over recent years and contribute to a sustainable food production system, a spokesperson for FrieslandCampina said.

30% fewer emissions
Together with its member dairy farmers, FrieslandCampina, aims to achieve a 33% reduction in GHG emissions on its farms by 2030.

The pilot collaboration between the Dutch companies FrieslandCampina, DSM, and Agrifirm marks an important step forward in increasing the sustainability of the dairy sector, the spokesperson added.