Farmers Forum staff
OTTAWA — Can a shot with something other than a bullet suppress a cow's methane burp? If the shot is a vaccine, it's entirely possible. Calgary, Alberta-based ArkeaBio — one of 13 remaining participants in the Trudeau government's $12-million Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge — is working on a vaccine to reduce methane emissions from ruminants.
The government launched the competition last November to support Canada's pledge to reduce so-called greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Methane is a carbon-based molecule like carbon dioxide, but bound to hydrogen instead of oxygen. Methane is considered a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Canada produces less than two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, and Canadian agriculture contributes just ten percent of total greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge originally had 86 applicants, but has now reached 13 semi-finalists. Each of them will receive $153,846 and will have a chance to win additional prizes of $500,000 and $1 million. The remaining participants are not farmers, but come from the fields of biotechnology, large-scale food processing and academia. In addition to ArkeaBio, these include:
• AbacusBio of Edmonton, Alberta – uses a tool that allows the selection of cattle bulls based on the methane footprint of their offspring.
• Agropur of Saint-Hubert, Quebec – proposes to reduce methane levels in cattle on Canadian dairy farms by using a dry-extruded, flaxseed-based feed ingredient in feed rations.
• Ample Agriculture of Toronto – uses a new feed additive that inhibits methane-producing organisms in the rumen and favors organisms that divert energy away from methane and toward meat and milk production.
• Mon Système Fourrager of Montreal, Quebec – uses a feed systems decision support tool to help producers develop strategies to reduce methane emissions.
• Pond Technologies of Markham – uses a feed additive to reduce emissions and provide more energy to cattle, resulting in faster growth or higher milk production.
• Semex of Guelph – proposes a breeding protocol and strategy for farmers to select low-methane genetics in their breeding programs and to measure, record and verify methane reduction over time.
• Sustainable Bio Security Inc. of Waterdown – uses ozone to reduce methane production and improve overall health on dairy farms.
• TerraWave Radar Solutions of Grande Pointe, Manitoba – uses radio waves to monitor soil quality to identify richer soil areas for optimized grazing.
• Université Laval in Quebec City – uses biofiltration to oxidize methane into carbon dioxide and water vapor.
• WaterPuris of Vaughan – uses textile electrocardiography sensors and oxygenated nanobubble water technology to optimize animal health and reduce emissions.
• University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon – Evaluating the impact of selecting genetic traits that allow cattle to digest more fibre while potentially producing less methane, and evaluating products administered through the water consumed by cattle.
