SUSTAINABILITY 90 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2026 that extends beyond single-point emission outcomes. Robust assessment must integrate biological validity, animal performance, health and safety, and economic return. Methane results should therefore always be interpreted alongside dry matter intake, methane yield and intensity, feed efficiency, and key performance indicators, to ensure mitigation doesn’t compromise productivity or health/safety. For large-scale continuous evaluation, a systematic on-farm measurement system should be developed for traceability and access to reliable activity data with standardized processes. ANH values science-backed proven solutions and underscores the need for greater standardization in how methane-reduction efficacy is assessed and reported to improve transparency. It enables fair comparison among technologies and accelerates adoption by farmers and food company partners.” Steve Meller highlights the farmer's perspective: “For any farmer, animal health is a priority. We are working with farmers on a daily basis to evaluate everything from weight gain to milk production volumes, feeding efficiencies and general animal health and happiness. No farmer would feed a supplement to their cows which would reduce milk volumes, affect taste, weight or the quality of their beef. So while emission reductions are important, they must be considered in the context of animal health and productivity. Any evaluation would need to focus on measures which result in positive outcomes for farmers, whether that be feed efficiencies – and therefore cost savings – or increasing milk volumes, weight gain, or increased marbling scores. Farmers need to be profitable, otherwise international industries and food chains will collapse. If we can support farmers to save costs through feed efficiencies, mitigate climate change, claim carbon credits or achieve a premium for their product due to their efforts to make a positive change, the farming industry should be able to prosper.” Gianluigi Sgarbi expresses the need for scientific validation and certification as follows: “In the article “Feed additives for methane mitigation: Recommendations for testing enteric methane-mitigating feed additives in ruminant studies” published in the Journal of Dairy Science in 2024 (https://doi.org/10.3168/ jds.2024-25050), clearly comes that there are only three technologies to evaluate scientifically the methane reduction, the respiration or metabolic chambers, the GreenFeed system, and the sulfur hexafluoride method, and these technologies must be used to certify the effect of a methane mitigator additive and thus his efficacy, also on the production performance. It is also important to emphasize that the results of scientific research must be welcomed with confidence by the production sector and related industries, especially when the additive's effectiveness is further certified by programs such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) for GHG reductions. Too often, both in livestock farming and in industry, further attempts to verify what is already established and proven effective only increase the risk of confusion and uncertainty. Research is an extremely difficult and complex field and therefore must be entrusted to researchers equipped with the appropriate skills and tools.” CONCLUSION: EFFICIENCY, WELFARE, AND CLIMATE IN THE SAME EQUATION The reduction of methane emissions in livestock is not merely an environmental responsibility; it has emerged as a field of transformation directly linked to efficiency, animal welfare, and economic sustainability. Nutritional solutions, with approaches centered on rumen biology, offer the potential to provide significant short-term climate gains while delivering actionable solutions without compromising production performance. In a world where the demand for animal protein continues to rise, science-based, measurable, and standardized nutritional strategies play a key role in ensuring the industry remains both aligned with climate goals and economically viable. Reducing methane emissions does more than contribute to climate targets; it also offers tangible benefits in terms of animal health, productivity, and farmer profitability. Through natural feed additives, balanced rations, and innovative nutritional solutions, the livestock industry has the opportunity to advance toward a more sustainable and low-emission production model.
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