Seaweed-fed cows could solve livestock industry's methane problems

Cattle on a CSIRO research station are being fed a mix of grain and seaweed to see if eating algae drastically reduces methane emissions in cows.

A CSIRO trial is underway to if feeding seaweed to
 cows drastically reduces their methane emissions

If successful, the trial could pave the way for a commercial Australian seaweed farming industry to help the overall livestock industry cut its methane emissions.

Agriculture contributes more than 15 per cent to Australia's overall greenhouse gas emissions, and almost 70 per cent of that is from sheep and cattle.

Research last year showed that in a laboratory setting, adding dried seaweed to a cow's diet could reduce the amount of methane it produced by up to 99 per cent.

Those results are now being put to the test in live cattle at the CSIRO's Lansdown Research Station, west of Townsville, in north Queensland.

Read the ABC News story - “Seaweed-fed cows could solve livestock industry's methane problems.”