How AACo cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30pc in 300 days with a surf and turf strategy

An answer to tackling climate change on farms can be found in the deep blue sea – and not change the taste or marbling of wagyu steak one iota.

Australia’s biggest meat producer has slashed greenhouse gas emissions belched from its cattle by almost 30 per cent after feeding them seaweed.

Methane emissions – also known as flatulence – are threatening the longer-term sustainability of the agricultural sector, with New Zealand even proposing a tax on livestock passing wind as part of the country’s plan to tackle climate change.

But Australian Agricultural Company, which owns about 1 per cent of Australia’s landmass, has found supplementing cattle feed with a red seaweed known as asparagopsis can curb emissions by almost a third.

Crucially, AACo chief executive David Harris said the change in diet did not alter the taste of the company’s wagyu steaks, which sell for more than $US360 ($390.43) for a ribeye two-pack from US retailer Goldbelly.

“No one had tested those things in Wagyu previously, but they are important findings, especially as a beef company selling a premium product into global markets,” he said.

“Importantly, we also learned that it’s safe for long-fed cattle like Wagyu to consume over those extended periods.”

Asparagopis is fast becoming viewed as a panacea for cutting livestock methane emissions, with the world’s biggest dairy exporter Fonterra also trialling the supplement and Tasmanian salmon processor Tassal and ASX-listed Clean Seas branching out to grow the seaweed.

But Mr Harris said there was no silver bullet to tackling climate change on farms and asparagosis was just one tool to curbing greenhouse gases – with agriculture contributing about 13 per cent to the nation’s emissions each year.

“This trial was an important step forward and we’re encouraged by the results,” Mr Harris said.

“Based on previous trials that were primarily with cattle fed for 100 days, we anticipated a higher methane abatement, however reducing emissions by almost 30 per cent is still significant.

“There is no silver bullet to eliminating enteric methane emissions, but we’ll keep trying and we’ll discover how to make it work in our environment. The important thing is that we are determined to get there.”

Mr Harris said the 300-day feedlot trial “demonstrates there’s still a lot we don’t know”.

“But that’s not a bad thing. Without testing the science, we won’t know how to solve the methane challenge.

“There is significant potential with methane abatement technology. While it’s not perfect yet, with more funding for research and better collaboration with government we can get there.

“We want to be part of the climate change solution. The question is, how do we make this work for everybody? This trial was another important piece in that puzzle.”

The trial ran in collaboration with Meat & Livestock Australia, Sea Forest, University of New England and University of Queensland.