Latest news with #HoofprintBiome
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scientists make groundbreaking discovery that could solve major issue with modern agriculture: 'We've spent thousands of years breeding the animals'
The biggest source of methane, a heat-trapping gas that contributes to our warming planet, is, by and large, agriculture, which produces 3.55 billion tons of methane per year, according to Our World in Data. Methane produced by the digestive processes in the stomachs of livestock, such as cows, contributes a large part of this number. Scientists have been trying to solve this methane problem for years, and finally, a new American startup might just have an answer. Hoofprint Biome is an innovative startup created by Dr. Kathryn Polkoff, an animal scientist, and Dr. Scott Collins, a bioengineer. The startup has an almost glaringly obvious solution to reduce the methane that cows produce while improving the animals' bioavailability. When cows feed — typically on food that is hard for nonruminant animals, like humans, to digest — the food travels through the stomach's four-part compartment, first entering the largest of all, the rumen. Because of its capacity, the rumen stores ingested liquid and food for digestion, and it is also where the food becomes fermented by the microbes in the rumen. This fermentation process creates methane, along with other gaseous by-products, that becomes expelled through the cows' belching, or burping. In approaching the methane problem, the scientists studied the source of the methane production. "It's a very specific subset of microbes that are making the methane," said Polkoff, according to a TechCrunch article. These microbes steal any nutrients from the cow that have not yet been absorbed, creating methane gas. To address this, the scientists created probiotics and natural enzymes to suppress these microbes and limit methane production. These additives would help regulate the cows' microbiome while encouraging the production of beneficial bacteria in the stomach to enhance their nutrient absorption. According to TechCrunch, the startup aims to achieve a 5% feed efficiency that would help reduce the amount of heat-trapping gas emitted by the agricultural industry. Reducing planet-heating gas pollution improves air quality and human health while slowing the rise of global temperatures. The startup has garnered $15 million in investments alone in its first major round of funding. "We've spent thousands of years breeding the animals to make them as efficient as possible and to increase the yield, but there have not really been that many attempts to change a microbiome," Polk said, per TechCrunch. "That'd be like if you were engineering a car but had never changed the engine." Do you think gas stoves should be banned nationwide? No way Let each state decide I'm not sure Definitely Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Rumin8, an Australian startup, has created a similar methane-reducing supplement that also enhances milk production in dairy cows. Although limiting methane production from cow belching is progress for a cleaner and cooler planet, it is only one part of the equation. Reducing dependence on dairy can significantly cut down on the amount of methane that the agricultural industry produces. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
RNZ News
01-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
AgrizeroNZ puts millions into start-up reducing methane emissions
US-based company Hoofprint Biome said its animal feed supplements will also improve farm animals' gut health. Photo: 123rf New Zealand climate investor AgrizeroNZ has put another $8.7 million into an American start-up that is promising to lower the climate-warming impact of cow burps. AgrizeroNZ said it is happy with the initial results from small US trials feeding animals enzymes that are aimed at reducing their methane emissions. US-based company Hoofprint Biome said its animal feed supplements will also improve farm animals' gut health and make livestock around five percent more productive of milk and meat. However, the product still needs testing in larger trials, including a planned trial in New Zealand. AgriZeroNZ chief executive Wayne McNee said Hoofprint was aiming to launch its first product in early 2027, subject to approval from the Ministry for Primary Industries to use the supplement on New Zealand farms. "They're developing two different things. One is an enzyme blend that you mix into supplementary feed, which looks to reduce emissions by about 80 per cent while at the same time improving milk yield and meat yield," he said. "The great benefit for a farmer would be if you can make more meat and milk with the same amount of feed and also reduce emissions, that would be ideal. "This [enzyme] still needs to be fed as a feed supplement but only a small amount once a day." The enzyme could work for dairy cows which come into the milking shed once or twice daily. "The company is also looking to develop probiotics which would enable it to be fed less often, maybe weekly or monthly, which could then be used for a much more extensive system like a beef or sheep system." McNee said Hoofprint representatives had been visiting New Zealand looking for research partners to run an animal trial. Methane from livestock makes up almost half of New Zealand's annual tally of greenhouse gas emissions. AgrizeroNZ is a joint venture aimed at getting that tally down by investing in new methane-cutting products. It is half owned by the New Zealand government and half owned by a group of companies including The a2 Milk Company, ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Fonterra, Rabobank, Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms and Synlait. Its latest investment takes AgrizeroNZ's total investment in Hoofprint to $13 million, it largest investment to date . It has also invested in several other potential methane-cutting products, including another US start-up - ArkeaBio - trialling a methane vaccine . The first product likely to reach farmers is a slow-release bolus out of New Zealand that releases bromoform into an animal's gut. New Zealand company Ruminant Biotech has developed a small metal capsule (bolus) , which delivers a potent methane-squashing medicine, which McNee said should be ready in 2026, before Hoofprint's enzymes. Fonterra has also been trialling its own "Kowbucha" probiotic to cut methane from dairy cows. Meanwhile, New Zealand scientists have been working on their own vaccine and methane inhibitors for years, McNee having a range of alternatives on the market would help keep prices competitive for farmers. There was also potential for additional benefits from adding together different products - but it was too soon to know whether that would work, he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Business Post
29-04-2025
- Business
- Business Post
US biotech raises $15m to reduce cattle methane emissions with Irish state among the backers
Tech Series A raise for Hoofprint Biome has been led by Sean O'Sullivan's SOSV through its Ireland Biomanufacturing Fund, which is backed by the Irish state Hoofprint founders Kathryn Polkoff and Scott Collins,
