We heard from three relatively recent additions to GRSB membership, each addressing innovations they have developed that contribute to our efficiency and innovation principle and to our goals.
ProAgni is a company run by livestock producers who have been looking at the sustainability of beef from a holistic viewpoint. They have focused on the challenge of reducing antimicrobials while increasing feed efficiency and productivity.
Their ProTect range of products are thus solving two problems that a producer is faced with, one of antimicrobial resistance and the need for efficient production to remain competitive. In developing this, they also found that by improving gut efficiency, particularly rumen efficiency, they had a product that also contributes to lowering methane emissions intensity (i.e. lower emissions per kg of meat.)
Aaron Laube introduced (MPSC) Rinse and Chill, a company that has been in business for over 25 years, and is a service provider to abattoirs.
Their process accelerates chilling of the carcass after harvest and removes blood more completely from the carcass than simply draining them. As a result, less energy is used in the plant and yield increases, as does shelf life, while dark cutting is eliminated. Again, this was an innovation that was developed to one issue and yet contributes significantly to overall efficiency and quality. Efficiency gains are in the order of a whole extra carcass per 18 processed, or a 5.5% gain. Combine that with production gains using existing best management practices and you are making progress towards the GRSB and wider industry Goals.
Colin South introduced ArkeaBio, another company concerned with the efficiency of livestock production, and determined to find a solution that can work worldwide for grazing systems where administration of feed additives is difficult.
The challenge they have set themselves is to develop a vaccine that knocks out the methanogens (predominantly archaea) in the rumen. This would clearly result in lower methane emissions, the major source of emissions from cattle. At the same time, it frees up the energy that is used in producing methane for productive purposes (ie growing more beef).
Antibodies to methanogens already exist in the cattle population, but not at the levels required in the rumen to have a large effect on emissions. Arkeabio is developing a vaccine that will multiply and concentrate the immune response resulting in sufficient antibodies in the rumen to suppress methane emissions for a period of months, i.e. compatible with normal husbandry / handling of cattle on even large and extensively managed operations.
This week, I am in the US for the USRSB general assembly and look forward to seeing some of you there. Later in May I will be in Cancun for the World Buiatrics congress, so let me know if you are there as well. It would be good to meet up.
As discussed in our first quarter board meeting, a number of work streams are progressing including Nature Positive Production. We have also just submitted a joint proposal to the FAO sub committee on livestock to have representatives hear about the roundtable network’s nature positive work. For those of you who have not come across the joint work of Archbold research station with AllTech, it makes for great reading, and viewing as there is also a series of videos about it.
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