SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — The Australian government has awarded GrainCorp AU$500,000 (US $366,442) to study the stability of a methane-reducing seaweed additive in livestock feed.

GrainCorp is one of six successful applicants that received a grant through the Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock (MERiL) program, a major initiative by the government to support the agriculture sector to trial low-emissions livestock feed technologies.

The grant will assist the acceleration of GrainCorp’s work to develop the super seaweed Asparagopsis, which has been proven to reduce livestock emissions.

“The success of the grant application validates our belief that GrainCorp is leading the science in developing methane-reducing animal feeds,” said Greg Aylward, Oils Business Development project lead, GrainCorp. “New opportunities are evolving both in reducing emissions and increasing ruminant productivity, and it’s exciting for GrainCorp to be at the forefront of this.”

The MERiL program supports the development of a viable Asparagopsis industry as well as FutureFeed – a partnership between GrainCorp, CSIRO and other investors, to take an innovative Asparagopsis-based feed product to market worldwide.

GrainCorp is leading the project with support from Agriculture Victoria, with trials to be carried out at the Agriculture Victoria Research Ellinbank SmartFarm.

“Asparagopsis is well on its way to becoming a multimillion-dollar industry, so grants like MERiL will really help develop high-quality feeds that deliver the promised efficacy and, importantly, contribute to a more sustainable future,” Aylward said.