The work in China and the US is part of a wider global program of investment in sustainability and targeting emissions reduction in ruminants. Alongside the work undertaken with research and Government organisations, Cargill has also invested in GreenFeed systems in the US, China, Korea, and Europe to enable promising new solutions to be trialled in commercial settings across different livestock production systems around the world.
Global Category Lead – Sustainability in Ruminants
Cargill
At Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health, we know that our customers are facing increasing complexities as they balance animal health and welfare with performance and business economics, while reducing the environmental impact of their operations. From our seat at the center of the global food system, we are uniquely positioned to enable connections that incentivize all parts of the system to work together toward meaningful sustainability outcomes.
We are deeply committed to a sustainable future where animal agriculture is the cornerstone of safe, nutritious, and affordable food production while respecting our planet, caring for animals, and supporting farmers. To us, sustainability is not just an aspiration or an idea; it is a steadfast commitment that permeates every aspect of our business.
Methane emission has increasingly come under public scrutiny in recent years, and it is estimated that livestock contributes to 14.5% of human-caused greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions globally. Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health’s approach to methane emissions reduction, Reach4Reduction™, works with farmers around the globe to support their sustainability journey.
We know that no single solution can enable meaningful sustainability outcomes alone. That’s why we look at the customer’s full context, strategically supporting them to increase productivity while reducing their environmental footprint with a broad range of sustainability solutions – from nutrition to farm management to digital tools.
INNOVATING FOR THE FUTURE
Innovation is a key pillar to our methane reduction approach and vital to fuelling the industry’s ability to successfully achieve sustainability goals. In addition to our global in-house R&D capabilities, we also collaborate externally to accelerate research and bring novel solutions to customers.
One great example is Cargill’s Technology Application Center (TAC) in Bazhou, China – a dairy research facility that plays an important role as a driver of innovation in Cargill’s ruminant methane emission reduction strategy. The China TAC evaluates various technologies, ingredients, additives, nutritional strategies, and digital solutions to measure and understand their individual and collective impact on methane reduction.
In 2022, Cargill’s China TAC partnered with China Agricultural University (CAU) to develop the Carbon Reduction Project to support China’s carbon reduction goals. In partnership with Professor Shengli Li, the Chief Nutritionist of the China Dairy industry, Cargill’s China TAC and CAU teams evaluated the impact of multiple ingredients and additives on methane emissions. These ingredients and additives range from probiotics, phytogenics, to those that redirect hydrogen in the rumen, and seaweeds which can block the process of methanogenesis.
After measuring and understanding each of these substance’s impact on methane reduction in the lab, the team validated their collective methane emission reduction ability on-farm, resulting in robust methodologies measuring individual feed intake and methane emission of cows. In the study, multiple solutions like low-carbon raw materials, technologies, ingredients or additives and feeding strategies were applied simultaneously to achieve and sustain carbon reductions on a test dairy farm operation. This ensured the investigation and validation of different technologies’ effects on cow performance, nutrient utilization, and methane production. For example, Cargill used C-Lock’s GreenFeed machines to validate that SilvAir™, Cargill’s methane emission reduction solution, could reduce dairy cow methane emissions when incorporated into feed.1
The TAC, CAU and Professor Li will analyze and evaluate results to transform methane emission standards in China. This is particularly important, as the TAC and CAU will deliver:
• The carbon emission standard for each ingredient in China – Understanding the base carbon emissions generated from each ingredient included in cattle diets to bolster Cargill’s global ingredient sourcing database, Cargill Nutrition System (CNS) – which provides real-time nutrient analysis of feed ingredients.
• The China life cycle assessment (LCA) tools for dairy farms – In general, an LCA is a tool to assess potential environmental impacts throughout a dairy cow’s lifetime. CAU and Cargill will outline the tools necessary to assess dairy cattle’s environmental impact in China, including methane emissions.
On March 8, 2024, nearly a year and half into the partnership, the China Agricultural University released a whitepaper titled “Whitepaper on China Dairy in Low Carbon,” with TAC as a co-author, contributing our insight and solutions. This includes solution efficacy in-vitro and in-vivo, the dairy methane emission reduction solution landscape, and more from the lab and the controlled dairy farm methane emission reduction study.
FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND RESEARCH LAB AT CORNELL, NY, USA
On the other side of the globe, Cornell’s Department of Animal Science, based in New York, USA, is now home to new, state-of-the-art animal respiration stalls that will enable research on livestock feed, health, and climate impacts.
The new Cornell University Animal Respiration Chambers are individual climate-controlled rooms made of stainless steel with glass windows. Researchers will use the new facilities to understand how much greenhouse gas livestock produce and what management techniques could reduce those climate-warming gases. Among other things, researchers will test changes in livestock diets with the goal of optimizing nutrition for efficient milk and meat production, enhanced animal health, and minimum greenhouse gas production.
With this technology, we’ll be able to more accurately answer questions about how livestock contribute to climate change and more effectively test strategies to reduce those impacts. The facility is the first of its kind to be installed in the U.S. and has been brought to life in partnership with Cargill.
The work in China and the US is part of a wider global program of investment in sustainability and targeting emissions reduction in ruminants. Alongside the work undertaken with research and Government organisations, Cargill has also invested in GreenFeed systems in the US, China, Korea, and Europe to enable promising new solutions to be trialled in commercial settings across different livestock production systems around the world.
Innovation requires partnership and cooperation across the industry. At Cargill, we know that a one-size-fits-all solution will not suffice for methane emission reduction. It is through key global partnerships that we are excited to strengthen research capabilities to accelerate the development of science-based solutions, to better serve farmers and the broader industry.
References
1SilvAir is only available in the EU, UK, and Brazil.
About Joanne Sharpe
Joanne Sharpe is Global Category Lead for Sustainability in Ruminants for Cargill Animal Nutrition. She joined Cargill in 2016, first with the UK team and soon moved to the European team in a strategic marketing role in the ruminant nutrition business, where she was instrumental in the development and launch of SilvAir in Europe. In her current role she works with Cargill teams across the globe to facilitate the implementation of ruminant sustainability technologies and activities and help drive new developments in this space. Prior to Cargill, Sharpe had over twenty years’ experience in the animal health and veterinary industries, holding positions in operations, business development and marketing. Her education includes a BSc (Hons) Agriculture with Animal Science and an MBA, both from Harper Adams University. Outside work, Sharpe maintains a strong connection with her farming roots; through involvement with the family dairy farm and also, she has a small flock of pedigree Suffolk sheep.
