The cow-mask product is still in a trial period and, with Cargill’s network of dairy farmers in Europe , could scale more quickly.
“If it is successful in capturing and converting methane to CO2, and you can scale it up and put it on a lot of farms … then, yes, [meaningfully cutting emissions] is definitely a possibility,” said Brad Heins, a dairy production professor and researcher at the University of Minnesota.
Cargill said it doesn’t plan to bring the mask technology to the U.S. for use on beef cattle. But Heins said he believes such a device could easily be applied to a feedlot setting.
Perhaps the most important factor in the success of the apparatus will be the cost, Heins said.
“It has to beat a certain price point. There has to be some economic advantage to the farmer. Obviously economics drive a lot of their decisions,” Heins said.
The company said it hasn’t determined the cost of the device yet, and much of it depends on incentives given European dairy farmers that, according to a Cargill spokesman, are “rapidly evolving and will certainly have changed by the time we will go to market.”
Zelp says the cows quickly adjust to the wearable device, which also collects data that can detect early signs of disease or when the cows are most fertile. The distributor partnership builds on Cargill’s existing sales portfolio, which includes feed additives that claim to lower methane production within the animal’s gut.
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Originally Appeared Here