Farm View: With Bovaer, scientific promise meets public scepticism

Despite its huge potential to reduce agricultural methane emissions, public trust in the product has been seriously dented after wild conspiracy theories were left to spread unchecked for several weeks

Feeding just a quarter of a teaspoon of Bovaer per day, methane emission reductions of 30% in dairy cows and 45% in beef cattle are possible, DSM claims.

In an era when agriculture is under growing pressure to curb its environmental impact, innovations that promise to slash emissions should be cause for celebration. Yet, as the story of Bovaer shows, even the best science can falter in the face of public mistrust.

I was interested to read this week that representatives from DSM at the British Society of Animal Science conference told delegates they were working on further developments with their methane-inhibiting feed supplement Bovaer.