A Cawthron Institute project to turn seaweed into a methane-reducing cattle feed supplement has received government backing of $100,000. Agriculture Minister Damien O'Connor stated that if the project is successful it could be a game-changer for farmers globally and could help keep New Zealand as one of the most productive and sustainable countries in the word. The Cawthron Institute is to receive the money from the Government's Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures fund to turn the seaweed, Asparagopsis armata, into a cattle feed supplement for domestic and global markets. This particular seaweed contains chemicals that have been found to reduce the microbes in the stomachs of cattle that cause them to burp when they eat grass.

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