Elanco Animal Health Incorporated recently announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has completed its review of Bovaer® (3-NOP), a first-in-class methane-reducing feed ingredient, and determined the product meets safety and efficacy requirements for use in lactating dairy cattle.
Bovaer represents a potential innovation that accelerates livestock sustainability, the next billion-dollar plus market in animal health, according to Elanco.
Bovaer works by suppressing the enzyme in the cow’s rumen that forms methane. Feeding one tablespoon of Bovaer per lactating dairy cow per day can reduce methane emissions about 30% or about 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions annually, while creating opportunity for dairy farmers to be financially rewarded for reducing their dairy’s carbon footprint.
Feeding one million cows Bovaer would reduce emissions equivalent to removing more than 285,000 cars from the road for a year.