$3.5m Government grant for research into methane-reducing stomach medicine

The Australian Government has awarded a $3.5 million grant to a New Zealand-based research group aiming to cut back ruminant animals’ methane emissions.

The grant, which has been delivered under the Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock program, will go to biotechnology research group Ruminant BioTech, which has been conducting laboratory and field tests on a slow-release bolus product.

The product works by sitting in a cow’s stomach and administering a sustained dose of an organic compound which reduces methane in cattle by more than 80 per cent, according to Ruminant BioTech.

With the Government grant, the University of Sydney will conduct controlled cattle trials to examine the bolus product’s effectiveness in reducing methane, as well as its safety.

Ruminant BioTech CEO Tom Breen said the team was “incredibly grateful” for MERiL’s support.

“We have been working on this technology for the past three years and believe that our product, which is targeting 80 per cent of methane reduction over six months from a single application, can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector,” he said.

“We are excited to be doing this in Australia and hope to give Australian and New Zealand farmers a competitive advantage in the race to low-carbon farming.”

Ruminant BioTech’s technology is primarily geared towards pasture-based grazing where alternative food sources are harder or impracticable to implement.

The research project will deliver information to the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water’s Livestock Emissions Framework for Feed Technologies and the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

Mr Breen said the goal was to create a commercial-ready methane-reducing bolus.

“The data we gather will be essential for fostering market confidence in our technology among producers and industry stakeholders, paving the way for future commercial launch in the Australian market in 2025,” he said.