Seaweed feed for cattle can be an excellent addition to the diet of a cow. Besides being rich in minerals, it also helps reduce methane emissions. Other benefits of seaweed include improving milk iodine content and reducing burping and farting. Read on to find out more about the benefits of kelp feed for cattle. This plant is a natural source of minerals and is also high in protein.
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Seaweed feed reduces methane emissions
The recent discovery that feeding cattle seaweed reduced methane emissions by up to 82 percent could help farmers reduce the amount of methane they produce by as much as thirty-five percent could have significant climate benefits. Livestock account for about a third of the world’s emissions, and it is estimated that cows release nearly two percent of the total in the United States. But why do cows burp up so much methane? The answer is simple: cows burp up excess methane as they digest their roughage.
One seaweed species that reduces methane emissions is Asparagopsis taxiformis. Although Asparagopsis is difficult to harvest from the ocean, scientists have begun to farm it in order to increase its methane-reducing abilities in livestock. This seaweed shifts cows’ ruminant function and makes them more energy efficient. The growing process takes 90 days, and it can be done almost anywhere.
It is high in minerals
Although the brown seaweed is not a true grass, kelp does provide the livestock with dozens of nutrients. Kelp is a rich source of minerals, including iodine, magnesium, potassium, and sulfur. When fed in sufficient amounts, kelp helps pastured cattle meet their daily nutritional requirements. Kelp contains significantly less moisture than straight pasture. Therefore, this feed is suitable for cattle without additional supplements.
One source for kelp is Thorvin kelp. This kelp contains approximately 770 ppm iodine. The mineral Sweetlix Stocker B1600 is 35 ppm. Some cattle minerals don’t contain any iodine at all, but Thorvin and Source kelp are both high in this trace mineral. Some of these sources have iodine, but this is not included in their ingredient lists.
It may improve milk iodine levels
A recent study suggests that kelp supplementation of cattle’s diets may improve the iodine concentration of their milk. While the results are preliminary, cows that ate kelp had higher milk iodine concentrations than control cattle. In addition, they had lower concentrations of sulfur compounds, called glucosinolates, which bind to iodine and pass into milk. The thyroid is an important gland in humans, regulating hormone processes, metabolism, and energy regulation. In humans, iodine is important for the human body, so increasing the concentration of kelp in the milk could improve the health of dairy cows.
In the study, researchers gave kelp meal supplements to Holstein Friesian dairy cows for a period of three months. At the beginning of the study, the cows in the kelp group weighed 631 +/-23 kg, while the cows in the control group weighed 690 +/-43 kg. A similar study also found that kelp meal supplementation improved milk iodine levels in dairy cows.
It may reduce burping and farting
Cows’ burping and farting, or bloating, contribute to climate change. Every year, cows belch about 380 pounds of methane. The reduction in burping, as a result, could slow climate change. According to Breanna Roque, an animal agriculture graduate student, kelp feed contains bromoform, which inhibits the enzyme responsible for methane production.
Cows have four stomach chambers, each containing its own digestive juices. This process is prone to producing methane, which accounts for about 5% of global carbon emissions. So, scientists have been trying to find a way to reduce the amount of methane cows emit. Some have already succeeded, and some have made it big. But how do they do it? The first step to finding a solution is addressing cow burping’s underlying cause.
The use of seaweed as a feed for cattle has many benefits for both livestock and the environment. It reduces cows’ burping and farting, allowing them to use energy for milk production. In turn, this also benefits the local dairy industry. It can also be transported to other parts of the country, further increasing the carbon footprint. And researchers are now exploring the possibility of growing seaweed in landlocked areas to make it more cost-effective for farmers.
