Researchers at the Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) and School of Biological Sciences at Queen’s have been feeding seaweed supplements to cattle in a bid to reduce methane emissions by at least 30%.
Research Challenge
HOW TO REDUCE LIVESTOCK METHANE EMISSIONS THROUGH DIETARY INTERVENTIONS?
Methane emissions from livestock are widely understood to be a significant contributory factor to climate change. Agriculture accounts for around 10% of all UK Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with methane produced by ruminants being a major component. In Northern Ireland methane accounts for almost a quarter of GHG emissions, with 80% of that from agriculture.
Adding seaweed supplements to animal feed to reduce methane gas emissions is a relatively new idea. Research in Australia and the US identified a red seaweed variety that saw an 80% reduction in methane emissions when added to cattle’s feed in small quantities.
This seaweed only grows in tropical areas and contains high levels of bromoform – known to be damaging to the ozone layer. Researchers at Queen’s have focused on finding a local seaweed alternative that produces similar results but doesn’t pose a risk to the ozone layer or require transportation and the associated carbon footprint.
Our Approach
TRIALLING LOCAL SEAWEED SUPPLEMENTS THROUGH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Researchers at Queen’s are trialling seaweed, sourced from the Irish and North Seas, as a feed supplement for cattle on UK farms.
One 3-year project is in partnership with the UK supermarket Morrisons and its network of British beef farmers who are facilitating farm trials. The project also includes Agri-food and Biosciences Institute Northern Ireland as a partner.
A second project sees IGFS and AFBI join a €2 million, international project - led by Irish agency An Teagasc - to monitor the effects of seaweed in the diet of pasture-based livestock. This trial began in select NI farms in early 2022, adding seaweed to grass-based silage used to feed dairy cows.
As well as assessing methane emissions of beef and dairy cattle, these projects are also assessing the nutritional value of a variety of homegrown seaweeds, their effects on animal productivity, and meat quality. For example, UK and Irish seaweeds are rich in phlorotannins which are anti-bacterial and improve immunity, so could have additional health benefits for animals.
The interdisciplinary nature of Queen’s research also allows testing from agricultural studies right through to human intervention trials. This will help researchers identify any added benefits of these trials to human health.
“The science is there. It’s simply a matter of providing the necessary data and then implementing it. Using seaweed is a natural, sustainable way of reducing emissions and has great potential to be scaled up. If UK farmers are to meet a zero-carbon model, we really need to start putting this kind of research into practice.”
What impact did it make?
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARD METHANE REDUCTION, WITH BENEFITS TO HUMAN HEALTH
Early laboratory research at IGFS has shown promising results using native Irish and UK seaweeds. IGFS lead Sharon Huws, Professor of Animal Science and Microbiology at Queen’s, is expecting the combined research to evidence a reduction in GHG emissions of at least 30%.
Morrisons supermarket plans to be completely supplied by net-zero-carbon British farms by 2030. By supporting this research at Queen’s and AFBI, they are moving in the right direction toward reducing environmental emissions and improving the quality of beef products.
Due to increased levels of iodine in the seaweed-enriched diets of cattle, the Centre for Public Health at Queen’s has also identified the human health benefits of milk produced by those herds. As result, researchers are now embarking on dairy trials providing milk from these herds to growing teenagers and pregnant women who are deficient in iodine.
Our impact
Impact related to the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Queen’s University’s commitment to nurturing a culture of sustainability and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through research and education.
