Ocean to Pasture: Local startups corral funding for livestock methane reduction
Jun 25, 2024
Two Hawai‘i Island startups, Symbrosia and Blue Ocean Barns, are making significant strides in reducing cattle methane emissions with seaweed-based feed additives. Using seaweed for this purpose is one that the World Bank predicts could be worth almost $12 billion by 2030.
The two Kona-based startups are poised to be major contributions to a growing seaweed farming industry, showing major promise at reducing the environmental impact of the livestock industry.
Symbrosia makes SeaGraze™, which is a high-value natural product derived from microalgae. A pioneer in developing natural solutions to enhance planetary health, Symbrosia is growing its SeaGraze at Cyanotech, which is operating a 96-acre facility at the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority (NELHA) in Kona. In a recent Honolulu Civil Beat article by Thomas Heaton, Parker Ranch shared how livestock have been fed farmed red algae over the past six months as part of a trial. According to Symbrosia, the results showed that there was 77% reduction in the amount of methane the animals belched.
The company was awarded more than $2.2 million in grants this year, including $1.2 million from the USDA, to boost its red algae production by 1,600%. This will allow more than 6,000 cattle to incorporate Seagraze into their diet, up from the current cap of 250. In addition, a $1 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation will help streamline its production process.
The other startup, Blue Ocean Barns, used its initial funding to pave the way for significant expansion of Brominata™, its seaweed-based digestive aid for cattle. The all-natural limu showed in trials that it safely eliminates more than 80% of cows’ methane production, all without changing the taste of milk or meat.
These innovative companies are not only helping to reduce harmful emissions but are also contributing to Hawai‘i’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2045.
Read the full story in Honolulu Civil Beat.