Two pilot studies were established, one in the Netherlands and one in the US, involving 65 farms and over 15,000 cows in total in order to develop the methodology for the concept. The GS methodology confirmed an average reduction of 1,200 metric tonnes (MT) over a six month period in the Netherlands and a reduction of 500 MT by August of 2020 in the US.  AGOLIN RUMINANT, when it is included in dairy and cattle feed at a rate of one gram per head each day for adult animals, has been shown to influence methanogenesis, the production of methane, in the rumen and thereby reduce methane release to the environment by the animal. In addition, the product has also shown to improve feed efficiency, which means that the return on milk and meat per kilogram of feed is better. This improved utilisation of resources benefits animals, farmers and the environment. Methane is known to have a much higher Global Warming Potential (GWP) than CO₂ (25x – IPCC 2003) and is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking about the project, Beatrice Zweifel, Technical Director at Agolin said;

“We are delighted to be part of this project and to work with Barry Callebaut towards their sustainability goals. The work done through Gold Standard for this project combined with what we already know through many trials on AGOLIN RUMINANT in dairy and beef animals allows us to facilitate sustainable production systems and we look forward to further growing the concept with industry”.

Project partner and global chocolate producer Barry Callebaut is also satisfied as:

"I am very pleased that we have been able to develop a methodology with Agolin to credibly quantify and certify CO₂ reductions. This closes an important gap and provides a great basis for us to scale up this work with our partners."

Oliver von Hagen, Director Of Sustainability Global Ingredients at Barry Callebaut Group

Agolin also holds a verification from The Carbon Trust Assurance Ltd for their dairy and cattle product, AGOLIN RUMINANT, in the reduction of methane emissions and continues to invest in research into ways to assist livestock producers around the world farm in a more sustainable and efficient way.

AGOLIN RUMINANT, when it is included in dairy and cattle feed at a rate of one gram per head each day for adult animals, has been shown to influence methanogenesis, the production of methane, in the rumen and thereby reduce methane release to the environment by the animal. In addition, the product has also shown to improve feed efficiency, which means that the return on milk and meat per kilogram of feed is better. This improved utilisation of resources benefits animals, farmers and the environment. 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United nations (FAO) it is estimated that of the 50 billion tonnes (CO2 – eq) of greenhouse gases (GHG) created by all sources each year around 2 billion tonnes comes directly from cows and beef animals. If AGOLIN RUMINANT was fed to these animals the saving would be around 200- 300 million tonnes of GHG emissions. Currently, AGOLIN RUMINANT is fed to over 1 million cows in the EU alone, representing an annual saving of around 300,000 tonnes of CO2-eq in that region.

AGOLIN SA, a Swiss based Company, develops and produces innovative phytogenic or plant-based additives for the livestock sector.  AGOLIN® RUMINANT, when it is included in dairy and cattle feed at a rate of one gram per head each day for adult animals, has been shown to influence methane mitigation in the rumen and thereby reduce methane release to the environment by the animal. In addition, and across many trials carried out both in the USA and EU, the product has produced improvements in feed efficiency, which means that the milk and meat produced per kilogram of feed is increased. This improved utilization of resources is considerably more valuable to farmers than the cost of the Product.  Thus, Agolin is providing benefits to animals, farmers and the environment.

Today, due in part to EU sponsored Research programs, Agolin® Ruminant is well adopted by the European feed industry, with uptake developing rapidly in the USA.   It is fed to over one million dairy cows. Last year, the Company was awarded a Certificate of Achievement from The Carbon Trust Assurance Ltd (independent low carbon and sustainability experts) for AGOLIN® RUMINANT, in the reduction of methane emissions and an improvement in feed efficiency. This breakthrough was a first in terms of an independently assessed and certified in-feed additive which not only improves feed efficiency but also significantly reduces methane emissions from cows.  According to Carbon Trust’s opinion, which is based on a meta-analysis, the correct use of AGOLIN within an average diet reduces dairy enteric methane emissions by 14 % (+/- 3%) per liter of milk or 10 % per animal (n.b. according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change a dairy cow emits about 3 tons of CO2-eq. per year).  Based on their findings and FAO’s GHG emission numbers for dairy cows and beef cattle, AGOLIN RUMINANT could potentially reduce global GHG emissions by around 200 million tonnes CO2-eq..  In the USA alone, if fed to just the national dairy herd of 9m cows, AGOLIN® RUMINANT could reduce GHG emissions by almost 3 million metric tonnes annually.

Agolin continues to invest in research into cost effective methane reduction and performance enhancement with AGOLIN® RUMINANT both in the EU and USA.  The product is commercially available throughout the USA from Advantec Associates Inc. and Feedworks USA Ltd.

Contact: Peter Williams.  Info@feedworksusa.com

Agolin SA, a Swiss based Company develops and produces innovative phytogenic additives for the livestock sector. The company has been awarded a Certificate of Achievement from The Carbon Trust Assurance Ltd for our dairy and cattle product, AGOLIN RUMINANT, in the reduction of methane emissions and improvement in feed efficiency.

This breakthrough is a first in terms of an independently assessed and certified in-feed additive which not only improves feed efficiency but also significantly reduces methane emissions from cows.

AGOLIN RUMINANT, when it is included in dairy and cattle feed at a rate of one gram per head each day for adult animals, has been shown to influence methanogenesis, the production of methane, in the rumen and thereby reduce methane release to the environment by the animal. In addition, the product has also shown to improve feed efficiency, which means that the return on milk and meat per kilogram of feed is better. This improved utilisation of resources benefits animals, farmers and the environment. 

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United nations (FAO) it is estimated that of the 50 billion tonnes (CO2 – eq) of greenhouse gases (GHG) created by all sources each year around 2 billion tonnes comes directly from cows and beef animals. If AGOLIN RUMINANT was fed to these animals the saving would be around 300 million tonnes of GHG emissions.

About 40 percent of the sector’s emissions are in the form of entheric methane (CH4), which is produced by the animal’s digestion process and released to the environment mostly by burping. A cow produces about 500 litres of methane gas per day. Furthermore, it is important to know that methane’s greenhouse effect is twenty one times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO₂).

AGOLIN^® RUMINANT is the Company’s flagship product. It’s a blend of high quality plant extracts from medicinal herbs and spices, which is effective, innovative, easy to use and safe. Research trials demonstrate AGOLIN’s potential to influence the rumen microbiota positively. Larger rumen bacteria populations and a reduced number of protozoa were discovered when AGOLIN was fed to cows. The feed additive produces rumen responses, both in vitro and in vivo, such as reduced methane and ammonia production in the rumen that leads to better energy and protein utilisation and consequently improved productivity in the animals.

The product research was partially supported by EU research projects, with the goal to demonstrate a reduction of methane production in ruminants by AGOLIN^®, coupled to increased productivity, feed utilisation and animal welfare.

SMEthane’s (Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development, FP7) research 

demonstrated AGOLIN’s efficacy to reduce methane. Under the conditions of the trial carried out by INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) in France, the feed supplement reduced over time the enteric methane production in dairy cows significantly by 30 %. In this trial a tracer gas technique was used.

In the Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries Research (ILVO) in Belgium, gas from cows and beef cattle was measured, but in metabolic chambers. Also in these experiments AGOLIN confirmed its ability to significantly reduce methane.

AGOLIN’s benefits are not limited to methane reduction. University and field trials also show consistent improvement in animal performance such as milk yield and feed efficiency.

Feeding the world’s cattle population with AGOLIN^® RUMINANT and reducing the average enteric methane production by 15 – 20 %, would result in a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 300 million tons CO₂-eq. This corresponds to nearly 1 % of the total GHG production.

AGOLIN’s concept is well accepted for its economic but also for its environmental benefits by the feed industry and farmers in Europe, North America and Asia. Agolin SA will continue to invest in science and business models for methane reducing feed additives, which could unlock larger mitigation potential in the agricultural sector.