Seaweed Supplement Reduces Methane Emissions from Grazing Cattle

A new study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that feeding grazing beef cattle a seaweed supplement in pellet form reduced their methane emissions by almost 40%. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, was the first in the world to test the effect of seaweed on grazing beef cattle rather than animals in a controlled environment. In this study, researchers allowed grazing beef steers in Montana to consume seaweed supplement voluntarily and found it did not adversely affect their health or weight. This delivery method works for cattle on pasture, yet still provides significant reductions in methane emissions. Researchers say this success paves the way for ranchers to more easily provide a seaweed supplement to grazing cattle, perhaps eventually by means of a lick block.