Benefits of SeaGraze® in Organic Pasture-Raised Sheep

In May 2020, Z farms - a certified organic farm in Dover Plains, New York - tested our enteric methane buster, SeaGraze® with their herds. Z Farms was our first moo-ver, and we owe our gratitude to the owner of the farm, Dr. Diane Zlotnikov, who led a rigorous multi-approach to the study.

Thank you to our trial collaborators and funders!

Logo of Z Farms featuring a half-circle image of a farm with green crops on the left and a golden wheat field on the right, with a large white letter Z and the word FARMS below.
Logo of Northeast SARE featuring a stylized landscape with green fields, a yellow sun, and text that reads 'Northeast SARE Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education'.
The emblem of Cornell University, featuring a shield with an open book and a shield with three trees, encircled by the words 'Cornell University' and 'Founded A.D. 1865'.
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Why SeaGraze®?

Asparagopsis taxiformis, a species of red marine macroalgae, has rich content of macro and microminerals making it a great candidate for reducing methane in ruminant animals.  It’s able to reduce methane emissions up to 90% by changing the rumen microbiome and minimizing microbe fermentation without altering the volatile fatty acids. Volatile fatty acids such as butyrate, acetate, and propionate are produced during microbe fermentation and utilized by the animal as a primary energy source.

Grazing livestock’s performances and health relies on the pasture's availability of essential minerals. Minerals can vary on a pasture and therefore may need to be administered as free choice on the pasture or occasionally administered as long-acting boluses slowly releasing minerals over time to the animal.

Experimental Design

Methods

Man sitting at a desk outdoors, working on a laptop, next to a large green tarp covering a structure, with trees and a fence in the background.
A sheep walking through a narrow passageway between metal enclosures, with a person walking behind it.

The six-week field trial contained 45 organic certified Whiteface Dartmoor 1.5 year old ewes split into 3 groups: control, A. taxiformis as free choice at 0.25% of DMI (dry matter intake), and 1% of DMI mixed with Alfalfa pellet in a trough feeder every morning for 45 days. The goal was to determine the impact of A. taxiformis on sheep methane production, microbiome, and overall health.

Sheep being examined with a thermal camera by a person wearing a red shirt, through a small wooden opening.

Data Collection

Methane measurements were captured each morning with a hand held laser detector to evaluate and analyze the reduction capabilities of A. taxiformis.

Other health parameter measurements such as body weight, body condition score, dry matter intake (DMI), and mineral content of forage and A. taxiformis were evaluated to identify the available nutrients and growth rate of the animals.

Fecal content was also analyzed for microbiome and parasitic analysis to identify the microorganism and parasite population present in the different groups.


Results

Table showing sheep weight data by treatment group across different dates, including average, median, and percentage of sheep gaining weight.

Microbiome results showcase that forage-utilizing bacteria significantly increase in both the low and high treatment groups

Abundance of Butyrivibrio species over time by treatment group is seen to the right. Butyrivibrio are important rumen bacteria, and are among the small number of rumen genera capable of utilizing the complex plant structural polysaccharides xylan and pectin (Palevich, 2017). Butyrate plays a significant role in energy metabolism and regulation of activities that influence the utilization of feed materials and the function of those materials (Miguel, 2019). 

Line graph showing CH4 concentration in ppm over time for multiple sheep, categorized into control, high, and low groups, with sheep IDs distinguished by color and labeled from June 15 to July 15.

Over 90% of sheep in high-dose group showed methane reductions on pasture.

This study showcased the adoption of SeaGraze® in pasture systems, informing that higher inclusion rates can improve access to the feed and adoption of the product.

Line graph showing treatment effects over time with three lines labeled Control, High, and Low. Data points are plotted for June 15 and July 01, indicating changes in abundance.

SeaGraze® promoted healthy gain even through summer heat stress difficulties

During the experiment, 93% of the treatment groups gained weight compared to the 56% of the control group during summer heat stress. This showcases the nutritional properties of SeaGraze® — seaweeds provide essential minerals and nutrients to mitigate oxidative stress.

Microbiome results indicate significant reduction in methanogenic bacteria in the rumen 

This graph (right) shows the abundance of Methanobrevibacter species over time by treatment group, showing a 32% decline in methanogenic organisms in the rumen. Methanobrevibacter are coccobacillus bacteria that utilize dihydrogen for methane production and are commonly found in the rumen, slide, human and animal feces, as well as wet wood of trees (Kim, 2014). A decrease in methanobrevibacter suggests that A. taxiformis limits the availability of dihydrogen to these bacteria, which in turn reduces the ability for this species to produce methane. 

Asparagopsis had an anti-parasitic effect in reducing Eimeria and Strongyles parasites.

We believe that small ruminants are great candidates for SeaGraze® use.

Download full study PDF here