ARTICLE FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE November 2023 79 the difference in reduction observed in this study. One clear difference between these two studies is one study was conducted in a controlled research setting, and the other conducted a trial under commercial farm conditions. The measurement of methane under commercial settings remains a challenging task. There have been multiple approaches to the on-farm measurement of agricultural methane, with the strengths and weaknesses of each approach discussed in detail previously [20,22,23]. One of the major challenges for the measurement methodology used in the present study is that methane measurements are only completed while the animal is being milked. However, this technique enables an estimate of methane emission to be completed in commercial dairies. This is in contrast to other measurement techniques that are more applicable to research settings such as SF6 and respiration chambers that cannot be readily deployed into a commercial farm at scale. Additional work to verify these on-farm results using measurement techniques such as SF6 and respiration chambers would be a logical extension of this work. The hypothesized mechanism of action for the sugarcane extract, Polygain™, is related to the observed capability to fine tune the rumen microbiome. This fine tuning is hypothesized to favor the proliferation of microbes capable of converting energy in the diet of the animal to products such as milk and meat, whilst inhibiting the proliferation of methanogenic organisms such as the methanogenic archaea. This mechanism has been described in further detail, as reported previously [18]. In the present study, a significant increase in production was observed, which would potentially support the hypothesized mechanism of action. However, this does not offer direct evidence that a shift in rumen microbiome has occurred. The collection of rumen fluid and analysis would be required to accurately test this assumption. Due to the constraints of operating within a working dairy farm, it was not feasible to collect rumen fluid and assess whether the same underlying mechanisms were likely responsible for the milk yield and methane concentration observations made in the present study. Further studies conducted under controlled research conditions where this mechanism of action can be evaluated are recommended to follow up on this proposed mechanism of action. The present study is the first report of a significant reduction in bulk somatic cell count correlating with the dietary inclusion of Polygain™. Bulk tank somatic cell counts were taken every 3 days in this study. There may have been other contributing
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