fbpx
Print this page
Thursday, 12 July 2018 08:55

Synlait's progressing on methane in ruminants

Written by 
Synlait is working to bring technology to NZ which may reduce methane by 30-60% in animals’ rumens. Synlait is working to bring technology to NZ which may reduce methane by 30-60% in animals’ rumens.

Synlait is working with companies in Europe to bring technology to NZ which will significantly reduce methane in the rumen of animals, says Hamish Reid, director of sustainability and brand.  

“The technology has not yet been broadly publicly released,” he says.

“It is being developed by an organisation in the Netherlands and it is fed to animals in a feedstock. They have evidence over many years of testing to show it will result in a 30-60% reduction in methane in animals’ rumens. 

“They have lots of peer-reviewed papers and evidence that it is absolutely possible.

“It has been designed for the barn-fed farming system in Europe so it is an experiment for NZ. 

But the product has been tested on farms here and they are getting really good results so we are looking forward to being one of their early commercial partners to  pioneer this product within our systems.”

Methane is about 60% of Synlait’s onfarm impact, Reid says.

“There is a lot of media attention on methane being a short-lived gas and perhaps not being the priority over the other two major gases – nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. But we think as minimum methane should be contained and in the best case reduced, so that is why we have set a strong target to reduce methane.

“There is a symbiotic relationship between nitrous oxide reductions which we have proven [reducible] on best-case farms.”

This could also result in gains in addressing methane.

More like this

Synlait's woes mounting

Synlait Milk's financial woes are mounting with farmer suppliers expressing concern about the state of the Canterbury milk processor.

Share tumble

OPINION: If you are an investor in listed Canterbury milk processor, Synlait then you may have a reason to be worried.

Synlait, a2MC disputes list growing

Troubled Canterbury milk processor Synlait and its key stakeholder and customer a2 Milk Company (a2MC) will enter 2024 with a growing list of disputes.

Featured

Govt urged to reduce ETS units

The Climate Change Commission wants the new Government to reduce NZ Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) auction volumes as son as possible.

Dairy sheep, goat woes mount

Dairy sheep and goat farmers are being told to reduce milk supply as processors face a slump in global demand for their products.

Alliance's Pure South cuts win gold

Meat co-operative Alliance Group has bagged four gold medals at the Outstanding NZ Food Producer Awards, achieving top honours for every cut entered.

Dairy demand on the rise

There is increasing evidence that dairy demand is on the upswing, according to Rabobank senior agricultural analyst Emma Higgins.

Fert use tumbles as prices spike

Fertiliser use in New Zealand over the 18 months is about 25% down from what it consistently was for the previous decade or more, says Ravensdown chief operating officer Mike Whitty.

National

Waikato dryer sold

An independent milk spray dryer in Hamilton, destined for liquidation, has been bought by a South Auckland goat milk processor.

Machinery & Products

Samasz sets its sights high

Since its arrival in New Zealand, Polish mower manufacturer Samasz, currently celebrating 40 years in business, has carved a niche…

Trojan keeps on going

The DR200 Trojan farm two-wheeler motorcycle was introduced over 28 years ago, when the engineering team at Suzuki New Zealand…

Still going strong!

The saying goes ‘if it ain’t broke -don’t fix it’, so it’s no surprise to see an old favourite in…