Methane from livestock accounts for 3.7% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, a number that will increase with humankind’s growing appetite for meat and dairy products.
Cattle and sheep are ruminants that digest their food for hours, chewing and re-chewing feed that goes in and out of their four-chambered stomach. The rumen, the first section of their stomach, is home to a complex system of microorganisms where a simple meal becomes a climate change problem through the production of around 200 litres of methane a day.
We need more solutions to reduce the industry’s impact on the environment. We believe our best chance to mitigate these emissions is to reduce methane production at the source.
Nature’s solution
Scientists have discovered a solution for enteric methane in rangeland plants and red seaweed, with trials revealing reductions of emissions from cattle.
With the cost and complexity involved in ocean-based seaweed cultivation, Rumin8 saw an opportunity to reproduce the target compound from the plant rather than mass producing the plant itself.
Our solution
Rumin8’s patented technology stabilizes and replicates nature’s anti-methanogenic compound, turning it into scalable and highly effective supplements.
We have drawn on a decade of research and development, harnessing the active ingredient from seaweed that targets the methanogenic pathways in the rumen of livestock. By reducing ruminant methane, we enable the animal to convert otherwise lost energy into increased productivity for the animal to create a compelling value proposition for farmers.
We are currently perfecting several formulations and delivery modalities to suit diverse livestock production systems – including rangeland grazing cattle – to provide low-effort and affordable solutions to producers. Ongoing trials are consistently demonstrating >85% methane reduction. That equates to two tonnes of carbon emissions removed from the air, per cow, per year.
Science and Safety.
We are acutely aware that Rumin8’s product must create a net benefit to the environment, and must do it safely.
Animal and Human Safety.
We carefully control the doses provided to livestock and regularly monitor for residues.
Recent trials in sheep, beef and dairy cattle have indicated there are no bromoform residues in either products for human consumption (meat and milk) or animal tissues (kidney, liver, spleen).
Animal health is important to Rumin8. In our trials we are finding animals are readily consuming our products with no negative impact on feed intake or overall health (this is assessed using veterinarian observations as well as ruminal health assessments and clinical blood checks).
Environmental Safety.
Rumin8 uses a pharmaceutical-based approach to developing its methane reducing feed additives. Meaning we can create a product with a precise amount of active.
Rumin8’s intellectual property is the ability to stabilize the bioactive (bromoform), so the bioactive doesn’t volatilize during product handling or feeding and therefore does not escape into the atmosphere.
In addition, the amount of bromoform that we use is insignificant to the amount of bromoform created by naturally occurring seaweed in oceans around the world.
To validate this, Rumin8 is continually testing animals in their trials for residues of bromoform in dung and urine and to date no residues have been found.
