Up until now, there has been no commercial, scalable solution to reduce methane emissions from cattle, but it looks as if that is all about to change with the development of Mootral, a patented natural feed supplement made from fruit and vegetables.

By applying unique bioactive compounds in animal feed, Mootral reduces greenhouse gas emissions by the agricultural sector and enables increased revenues from climate friendly meat and dairy products.

The product, which has been shown to reduce methane emissions from ruminants by at least 30%, has been developed by researchers in the UK and leading European institutions, with funding from the Swiss-based life science group Zaluvida.

From there, Zaluvida introduced the solution to Danish scientists at the University of Copenhagen and the results of the conducted in-vitro trials show a strong impact of Mootral on rumen fermentation ultimately impacting climate-change.

“A 58% methane reduction was achieved when we added Mootral to a typical (Danish) dairy ration of maize silage and soybean cake in our in-vitro test," commented Mette Olaf Nielson, professor in sustainable animal nutrition.

"This is an impressive and exciting result. We will continue our studies with Mootral to verify the effects in real cows under farm conditions as part of our ongoing research efforts to find ways to ensure drastic reductions in methane emission and de-criminalize cows in the climate debate. The in-vitro test showed clearly that Mootral increased early fermentation and did not affect feed degradability whilst reducing methane.”

Dr Hilde Vrancken, vice-president of research and development at Zaluvida – a globally operating life science group with offices in Switzerland and branchs in Germany, Wales, the Netherlands, US and Maylaysia – added: “We are pleased to see such significant and positive results from the University of Copenhagen, confirming the methane emission reductions we have found with our partners worldwide, both in vitro and in vivo.

"By using Mootral, farmers will now have an opportunity to provide meat and dairy products to the consumer while creating an immediate positive effect on the climate and the cow’s health and productivity. Since our market research has shown that consumers are excited about the concept of climate-friendly products, we are looking forward to move forward the discussion around Mootral.”