Swiss finaco to reduce methane with plant extracts in feed

The Swiss agricultural cooperative Fenaco is releasing climate-friendly animal feed as part of the “UFA Swiss Climate Feed” programme. The feed contains a mixture of natural plant extracts, which means that cows emit less methane. This can reduce several hundred thousand tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Farmers do not pay anything extra for this feed. The additional costs of trade in CO2 certificates are paid for.

According to Fenaco, 550,000 Swiss cows emit about 75,000 tons of methane during digestion, which is the equivalent of 1.9 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Switzerland, like other countries, wants to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and be greenhouse gas neutral by 2050.

UFA affiliate Fenaco introduced the mineral feed UFA 295 Biotin USCF in May. This contains the natural preparation Agolin Ruminant from the Swiss company Agolin. According to scientific experiments and field tests, a mixture of high-quality plant extracts improves the digestion of dairy cows and thus reduces methane emissions, says Finaco. This was also confirmed by the Swiss Clean Technology Report 2020 issued by the Swiss Confederation. The total reduction potential for dairy cows in Switzerland is several 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.

emission reduction rights

Since its introduction, farmers have received climate-friendly forage from UFA at no additional cost. In return, they waive the rights to reduce emissions that are achieved by feeding climate-friendly forages. The “UFA Swiss Climate Feed” program is validated by an independent auditor. Results are expected in the fall of 2021.

If validation is successful, the emissions reductions can be converted into tradable CO2 certificates. The proceeds from the certification trade are intended to cover the additional costs of methane inhibiting feeds and the costs of the certification process.