New Zealand company Ruminant BioTech formed in 2021 is on track to launch its methane reducing slow release bolus in Australia next October. It successfully raised equity capital of $12.2 million last year in addition to government funding of $7.8 million under the Climate Emergency Response Fund for investment in research and development. More recently it has received $4 million from AgriZeroNZ and an A$3.5 million grant from the Australian government’s Methane Reduction in Livestock (MERiL) fund.
This last grant is particularly appropriate because the faster regulatory approval process in Australia permits the earlier introduction of the product there than in this country. Tom Breen, CEO of Ruminant BioTech, says there are many different regulatory frameworks around the world which require complying with, so the slower process in New Zealand must be respected. Under the present approval scenario here, he expects to release the bolus here in another three years, but says the earlier release in Australia will provide the opportunity to scale up and iron out any teething problems.
The company’s success in obtaining the capital needed to get started is based on the positive results from the thousands of small scale trials performed before commercial production begins. Breen is quietly confident the twelve months of further testing before the October 2025 launch in Australia will address any outstanding issues. To date Ruminant BioTech has produced thousands of boluses to prove the technology’s reliability, consistency and duration which achieves at least 75% reduction in methane emissions on pasture over 100 days.
Now it is time to complete the commercial plant and work towards the product launch which will address an initially narrow target of weaner beef cattle before moving on to older cattle, including dairy cows. This will be particularly important in New Zealand, given the fact there are nearly 5 million dairy cows compared with about 3.5 million beef cattle. Breen is unable to give any idea of the cost of the bolus, but believes it will be a low cost, high performance solution.
DairyNZ principal scientist Jane Kay welcomes the progress being made in developing methane mitigation technology and looks forward to seeing published data from Ruminant BioTech with details of the product’s impact on greenhouse gas emissions and herd performance over time. For technologies to work well in the NZ dairy system, they need to be effective in growing and lactating cows throughout the season, while maintaining or improving feed intake, animal health, and performance (e.g., production and reproduction) in NZ farming conditions.
She makes the point “experience with research in this area indicates that cow physiology (growing heifers vs. dry vs. lactating cows), pasture seasonality and supplementary feed intake, product dose, and duration of the response all have an impact on the GHG mitigation potential. These factors need to be considered and evaluated in conjunction with cost and adoptability of the product to determine their potential to mitigate emissions within the NZ dairy sector.”
BLNZ’s GM Excellence Dan Brier is really pleased to see Ruminant BioTech’s progress with an ingenious solution to a previously intractable problem – mitigating methane emissions in a pasture based farming system. He is keen to see the product available to New Zealand farmers as soon as possible, but recognises the need to ensure a robust approval process is followed without compromising food safety. He is also eagerly anticipating when the product is available for use in sheep, although the company’s immediate focus is to ensure the bolus does a thorough job in cattle.
The active ingredient in the product is a synthetically produced, naturally occurring compound called tribromomethane (TBM), closely related to bromoform which is the active ingredient in asparagopsis seaweed. Research has found bromoform, although potentially carcinogenic, if administered in low doses is not bioavailable in meat, therefore there is minimal risk of residue transfer in livestock or humans. This would possibly be more of a factor in dairy cows and milk than beef cattle.
Ruminant BioTech is not the only company intending to introduce this technology using TBM. Perth-based Rumin8 already has provisional approval from New Zealand’s Animal Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) to conduct commercial trials here. The main difference between the two companies’ technologies appears to be in the delivery method: in the case of Ruminant BioTech delivery is via a slow release bolus which sits in the cow’s stomach (ideal for pasture raised animals), while Rumin8’s solution is administered through solid feed and water formulations.
Also, Sydney startup Number 8 Bio has just raised A$7 million to progress product development and build a new facility to produce a range of methane reducing feed additives based on the same ingredients. This company is not as far advanced as the others in its development, although trials are being conducted in collaboration with the Queensland Animal Science Precinct and the University of New England. It is confident of being able to cut methane emissions by 90% and improve rumen productivity.
Until very recently, methane emissions reduction in a pastoral farming environment was thought to be unachievable, Bovaer being the only obvious option and more suited to feedlots and indoor feeding. But there now appear to be several options potentially available for cattle in the relatively near future and at an affordable cost, all using a similar technology. If even one of them turns out to be applicable to sheep, the holy grail of solving farming’s methane emissions problem may no longer be just a pipedream but a reality.
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7 Comments
Until I am informed otherwise*, I am assuming this works by delivering slow release bromine to the cows stomachs killing off stomach bacteria that help digest grass and produces methane. Good news is it should work everywhere bad news is the cows may become nutritionally deficient or have digestive problems because cellulose or whatever is not being digested properly.
*I can't find any study on this
bromoform bro
"Greenhouse gas emission management strategies including methanogenesis inhibitors provide an effective measure, with Asparagopsis (bromoform) the most promising performer to date. Importantly, evidence to date demonstrates that animal health and product quality is not compromised at the minimum effective feed inclusion levels of Asparagopsis targeting inhibition of ruminant methanogenesis.
...In conclusion, this synthesis of the literature suggests that large-scale aquaculture of Asparagopsis, and its application in methane mitigation strategies for ruminants at or near minimum effective inclusion levels, may not negatively impact animal health, food quality, and ozone depletion."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211926422000443
What's the active groups on bromoform... bromine or ions of
Apparently in low doses (or "minimum effective inclusion levels") its preferentially used by the methanogens before it effects anything else. This causes some digestive problems with excess H production but does not obviously harm the animals growth. However, if you dose it too high and shoot for 100% reduction it's harmful.
Using the phrase "evidence to date" means they are not looking too hard or at long term effects. I can see how this could work if they are happy with 40-70%.
Solving one problem and likely creating another.
While the potentially carcinogenic potential does not seem to transfer onto meat products, we don't know what we don't know and there's likely to be a huge blindspot somewhere.
However, this is how scientific discovery works and there seems to be no better way than forward.
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