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In response to the global imperative for climate action, meat and dairy industry leaders are actively reducing their carbon and methane footprints through supply chain efficiencies and advanced animal genetics.
Ahead of the Animal AgTech Innovation Summit in San Francisco on March 18-19, we spoke to Alltech, Vytelle, CH4 Global and BiomEdit about their collaborations and investments in climate-smart solutions – from methane inhibitors and efficient cattle feed to carbon credit marketplaces.
Kyle McKinney, VP of Innovation, ALLTECH:
“Alltech and our logistics partner have put a tremendous effort into improving our supply chain. By utilizing advanced visibility supply chain analytics to increase network optimization, the results are less freight movements and decreased emissions. Three primary tools that support the analytics are:
- Supply Chain Inspection Report: leverage data to determine where opportunities exist within Alltech’s supply chain.
- Optimizer: execution technology ran daily to provide optimal freight mode and routing.
- Emission IQ: visibility of our carbon emissions. This allows us to benchmark performance and gain insights to reduce cost and emissions from consolidation and modal conversion to network redesign and inventory reduction.
As a result of these efforts, a single Alltech business unit has seen four quarters of decreased emissions while shipping the same freight tonnage.”
Kerryann Kocher, CEO, VYTELLE:
“At Vytelle, we believe that genetic progress is the solution to a sustainable supply chain and one that can deliver permanent and compounding benefits. Measuring and selecting for feed efficiency is one of the most scalable tools for impacting overall sustainability. Cattle that are more feed efficient, not only return more profit but also produce less enteric methane emissions. Up to now, progress has been slow and uncoordinated due to the fragmented industry structure. With this in mind, Vytelle has built the first integrated livestock technology platform to accelerate genetic selection in cattle. Our Vytelle SENSE technology allows producers to measure and genetically select for feed efficiency. Once identified, as part of the breeding program, we offer the industries most advanced hormone free IVF system, Vytelle ADVANCE, to make five times faster progress of traits of interest.
I am looking forward to discussing opportunities on how to flip our approach to tackling livestock’s carbon footprint. How can stakeholders align and move on enteric emissions improvement for industry wide benefit. Thinking about this topic in the context of food safety, where the industry does not differentiate, but aligns as a basic condition of being in the business.”
Steve Meller, CEO, CH4 GLOBAL:
“1. Regulations – in the face of COP28 and the impact of methane mitigation in climate change, regulators around the world are under pressure to manage pathways for methane inhibitors for market impact. Commercial partnerships can help with this as major players in industries can facilitate engagements in markets.
2. Costs/Use/Scale – this is the most significant barrier. An end-to-end production process is only useful for scaled impact if the product is profitable without any need for subsidies. This is the major challenge for many. Commercial partnerships can help overcome scale issues by leveraging key engineering to bring costs down.
3. Acceptance – resistance from farmers is quite broad and the need to ensure farmers have a net positive return on their investment with use is the challenge that products need to meet. Commercial partnerships can bring the entire supply chain to the table to facilitate use and acceptance.”
Aaron Schacht, CEO, BIOMEDIT:
“We have recently announced a partnership with Athian, which is developing the world’s first cloud-based carbon marketplace for the livestock industry. We’ll be working in parallel to develop solutions for reducing methane emissions, while Athian quantifies sustainability outcomes as part of its carbon credit marketplace. The ability to demonstrate a measurable impact on emissions through the use of novel interventions is key to enabling the adoption of new technologies by livestock producers, no matter where they are in the world.
BiomEdit was also awarded a $4.5m grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop methane-reducing technologies for ruminants. The supported research will focus on the needs of small-scale producers, particularly in Africa and South East Asia, although the knowledge and products generated from this work are expected to benefit cattle producers worldwide.”
We look forward to hearing more from our experts on their panel sessions at the summit, book your place now to join them:
9.30am: Case Studies: Targeting the Gut: Precise Solutions for the Microbiome
Aaron Schacht, CEO, BIOMEDIT
11.05am: Tools for the Climate Crisis: Accounting for Emissions and Environmental Impact in Meat and Dairy Production:
Marilyn Hershey, Chair, DAIRY MANAGEMENT INC.
Kyle McKinney, VP of Innovation, ALLTECH
Kerryann Kocher, CEO, VYTELLE
12.10pm: From Academic Trial to Commercial Use: How can the Adoption of Methane Inhibitors Be Maximized for Impact?
Steve Meller, CEO, CH4 GLOBAL