AgriZeroNZ puts millions into US start-up reducing methane emissions

US-based company Hoofprint Biome said its animal feed supplements will also improve farm animals' gut health. Photo / 123rf

By Eloise Gibson of RNZ

New Zealand climate investor AgriZeroNZ has put another $8.7 million into an American start-up that is promising to lower the climate-warming impact of cow burps.

AgriZeroNZ said it was happy with the initial results from small US trials feeding animals enzymes that were aimed at reducing their methane emissions.

US-based company Hoofprint Biome said its animal feed supplements will also improve farm animals’ gut health and make livestock around 5% more productive of milk and meat.

However, the product still needs testing in larger trials, including a planned trial in New Zealand.

AgriZeroNZ chief executive Wayne McNee said Hoofprint was aiming to launch its first product in early 2027, subject to approval from the Ministry for Primary Industries to use the supplement on New Zealand farms.

“They’re developing two different things,” he said.

“One is an enzyme blend that you mix into supplementary feed, which looks to reduce emissions by about 80% while at the same time improving milk yield and meat yield.

“The great benefit for a farmer would be if you can make more meat and milk with the same amount of feed, and also reduce emissions, that would be ideal.

“This [enzyme] still needs to be fed as a feed supplement, but only a small amount once a day.”

The enzyme could work for dairy cows, which come into the milking shed once or twice daily.

“The company is also looking to develop probiotics which would enable it to be fed less often, maybe weekly or monthly, which could then be used for a much more extensive system like a beef or sheep system.”

McNee said Hoofprint representatives had been visiting New Zealand looking for research partners to run an animal trial.

Methane from livestock makes up almost half of New Zealand’s annual tally of greenhouse gas emissions.

AgriZeroNZ is a joint venture aimed at getting that tally down by investing in new methane-cutting products.

It is half owned by the Government and half owned by a group of companies including The a2 Milk Company, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Fonterra, Rabobank, Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms and Synlait.

Its latest investment takes AgriZeroNZ’s total investment in Hoofprint to $13 million, its largest investment to date.

It has also invested in several other potential methane-cutting products, including another US start-up, ArkeaBio, trialling a methane vaccine.

The first product likely to reach farmers is a slow-release bolus out of New Zealand that releases bromoform into an animal’s gut.

New Zealand company Ruminant Biotech has developed a small metal capsule (bolus), which delivers a potent methane-squashing medicine, which McNee said should be ready in 2026, before Hoofprint’s enzymes.

Fonterra has also been trialling its own “Kowbucha” probiotic to cut methane from dairy cows.

Meanwhile, New Zealand scientists have been working on their own vaccine and methane inhibitors for years,

McNee having a range of alternatives on the market would help keep prices competitive for farmers.

There was also potential for additional benefits from adding together different products - but it was too soon to know whether that would work, he said.

- RNZ