A puffy pink seaweed that can stop cows from burping out methane is being primed for mass farming by researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast.
USC Seaweed Research Group leader Associate Professor Nick Paul said that if Australia could grow enough of the seaweed for every cow in
Australia, the country could cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 10 per cent.
The particular seaweed species, called Asparagopsis, grows prolifically off the Queensland Coast, and was the only seaweed found to have the effect in a study five years ago led by CSIRO.
"Seaweed is something that cows are known to eat. They will actually wander down to the beach and have a bit of a nibble," Paul said.
"When added to cow feed at less than two per cent of the dry matter, this particular seaweed completely knocks out methane production. It contains chemicals that reduce the microbes in the cows' stomachs that cause them to burp when they eat grass."
