Australian climate technology company, Rumin8, has been granted provisional registration by New Zealand authorities for its methane reducing feed additive. The product can be delivered in solid feed or water to livestock.
Rumin8’s formulation uses the organic active compound Tribromomethane (TBM), initially derived from Asparagopsis or red seaweed.
The company has also developed a scalable and cost effective pharmaceutical grade manufacturing process to synthesise and stabilise the anti-methanogenic compound, which can now be tested in commercial animals to generate the data for final approval in New Zealand.
Rumin8 CEO, David Messina, said that the provisional registration is an important first step in the New Zealand registration pathway, and ultimately, toward supporting farmers with methane reduction efforts.
New Zealand had always been a target market for the company, with the team working with commercial and research partners in New Zealand to test the safety and efficacy of its technology since late 2022.
“New Zealand farmers are some of the most innovative farmers globally, and the world continues to learn a lot from them. They are already leaders when it comes to producing lower carbon meat and milk, so we’re excited at the prospect of being able to offer a new technology to support their efforts,” Messina said.
The New Zealand provisional registration from the New Zealand Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVM) is one of multiple registration processes that are progressing in parallel. Engagement with the US FDA CVM and Brazilian MAPA regulatory bodies has been ramping up off the back of recent trial results.
The emissions reducing capabilities of the red seaweed, Asparagopsis, has been embraced by the agricultural and science sectors in a bid to develop ways of cutting the methane from livestock’s 3.7 per cent contribution to human-driven greenhouse gas emissions.
AgriFutures forecast the Australian seaweed industry has the potential to reach $1.5 billion in the next 20 years.
Tasmania-based company Sea Forest has been at the forefront of Asparagopsis research and farming. It raised $34 million in 2021 and has run or is running trials with Fonterra, Australian Agricultural Company, and Stockyard. It commercialised its feedstock in 2023.
Marine scientists at CQ University’s Coastal Marine Ecosystems Research Centre (CMERC) are researching seaweed varieties that grow in warmer waters.
Meat & Livestock Australia’s latest research, led by CSIRO, found that since 2005, the Australian red meat and livestock industry reduced its net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 78 per cent. In order to continue this trajectory, it is important to implement new strategies on a global scale.
