Oregano may reduce methane in cow burps.

Oregano may reduce methane in cow burps.A new research project aims to reduce methane emissions from dairy cows by up to 25 per cent. This benefits not only the environment, but also arable farmers and milk producers, and it uses one key ingredient: oregano. It may sound pretty harmless, but methane emissions from cows are a large problem for the climate. When ruminants digest their feed, methane is formed as a natural by-product of the microbial process in the rumen, and since methane is a 25 times more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, there is a need to devise methods to reduce such emissions from cattle. Methane production can be reduced by, for example, adding fat or nitrate to the feed or by increasing the starch content and improve the feed quality. But for organic dairy farmers, these remedies are either not permissible or are already being used. There is therefore a need for other solutions. In a new research project, researchers from Aarhus University in cooperation with Organic Denmark and a number of commercial partners will be examining whether the addition of organic oregano to cattle feed can reduce the production of methane in the rumen and thus emissions of methane gas. Oregano may reduce methane in cow burps