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Oregon researchers and seaweed growers tout feed additive as potential rapid methane-reduction tool for cattle
Summary
At an informational May 12 session the Senate Energy and Environment Committee heard researchers and growers describe prospects for using cultivated red seaweed as a small dietary supplement to cut enteric methane from cattle and to create coastal economic opportunities.
Oregon State University and local seaweed growers told the Senate Energy and Environment Committee on May 12 that cultivated red seaweed shows promise as a dietary supplement to reduce enteric methane emissions from cattle while creating new coastal jobs.
"When added to cattle diets in very small amounts...distilled weed can reduce methane emissions by as much as about 80 percent in trials," said Juliana Ranches, assistant professor and beef extension specialist at Oregon State University, describing research interest in the red seaweed asparagopsis (a species related to strains commonly discussed in the literature). Ranches said reductions are achieved at very low inclusion rates — on the order of grams per day — and that methane reductions represent an efficiency gain for producers because energy otherwise lost as methane can go to growth or milk.
Ranches gave practical feeding context: a low inclusion rate trialed in some research equals about 30 grams of dried seaweed per cow per day (roughly 11 kilograms, or 25 pounds, per cow per year). That small per-animal amount means the statewide feed market could be supplied incrementally but at scale if production grows.
Representatives of Oregon Seaweed described tank-based, controlled-environment cultivation of a clonally propagated red dulse strain that company founders say is high in protein and fast-growing. Founder Chuck Toombs said the company operates pilot farms in Bandon and Garibaldi and described a production model that relies on seawater, electricity and continuous harvests in tanks rather than open-ocean farming. Partner Jason Bush said tank culture allows control over quality and the ability to tailor nutritional composition.
Panelists and Senator Brock Smith, who has championed related policy work, said the state has scientific expertise and existing coastal operations that could scale with investment in research, processing infrastructure and regulatory clarity. Testimony noted USDA funding to OSU to support some of the research and pilot work.
Speakers and committee members discussed practical questions that remain before broad adoption: needed on-farm trials under Oregon grazing conditions, supply-chain scale and cost projections, regulatory approvals for feed additives, and whether product supply can be produced economically at the volumes required for widespread livestock use. Company witnesses said they are already selling fresh product to specialty markets and working on scale-up strategies to reach lower-cost protein and feed markets.
The committee did not take action; the session was informational. Witnesses asked the Legislature to consider research and commercialization support to accelerate testing, safe production and processing capacity in coastal communities.
