Elanco to launch product that reduces dairy cattle methane emissions

Elanco Animal Health said Tuesday it expects to launch a product in the third quarter that reduces methane emissions in lactating dairy cattle.

The Greenfield-based company said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has completed its review of Bovaer, a methane-reducing feed ingredient, and determined the product meets safety and efficacy requirements.

Elanco has called Bovaer a potential blockbuster, meaning it could ring up annual sales of at least $100 million.

The company said Bovaer works by suppressing the enzyme in the cow’s rumen that forms methane. Feeding one tablespoon of Bovaer per lactating dairy cow per day can reduce methane emissions about 30%, or about 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions annually, while creating opportunity for dairy farmers to be financially rewarded for reducing their dairy’s carbon footprint, Elanco said.

Cows emit methane through their mouths during the digestive process, and cow manure also can generate methane emissions under certain conditions. Experts say only a small percentage (roughly 5%) of cow methane emissions can be attributed to flatulence.

Farmers who participate in voluntary carbon markets have the potential to create an annual return of $20 or more per lactating cow by feeding them Bovaer, Elanco said. Feeding one million cows Bovaer would reduce emissions equivalent to removing more than 285,000 cars from the road for a year, the company said.

Methane lasts about a decade in the atmosphere and is 27 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat—so smaller reductions create greater impact on temperature, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

“As global temperatures breach new thresholds, consumers demand more sustainable products and the farm economy battles profitability challenges, we are excited to bring Bovaer to the market as a potential solution,” Elanco CEO Jeff Simmons said in written remarks.

Shares of Elanco were up about 2.2%, to $17.16 each, in early-afternoon trading.