Feeding Seaweed to Cows Could Help Reduce their Emissions

Tuesday, December 20th, 2022 -- 8:01 AM

(By Courtney Everett, Wisconsin Public Radio) Feeding dairy cows a diet including seaweed may reduce their emissions of the potent greenhouse gas, methane, by up to 20 percent, according to initial results from University of New Hampshire researchers.

But, according to Courtney Everett with Wisconsin Public Radio, for Wisconsin farmers who oversee more than 6,000 milk dairy cow herds, switching to seaweed could pose major challenges: the grass may be difficult to find locally, and it could reduce milk production.

Andre Brito, an associate professor at the university’s Organic Dairy Research Farm, recently appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio’s "The Morning Show" to discuss the prospects of feeding seaweed to cattle amid global efforts to fight climate change.

The United Nations estimates methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And cows emit a lot of the gas as part of their digestion. The average cow burps every 90 seconds, releasing about 264 pounds of methane annually, according to the organization World Animal Protection.

Brito said researchers are exploring whether feeding seaweed to cows can reduce methane emissions, because the plant is known for having a complex set of bioactive compounds.

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