Nitrate in animal feed to reduce emissions

By digesting grass, methane is created in the cow’s rumen. The cattle emit the methane gas through their manure and by belching and farting. They are also seen as the culprit of greenhouse gas emissions.

CO2-neutral milk

Giving your dairy cows a little nitrate every day via their concentrates can influence the functioning in the rumen and thus lead to less methane emissions. That is what Sofie Vanpeperstraete and Geert Vandenbussche of De Biezenhoeve in Watou are doing to make their ecological footprint even smaller. “My goal is to be able to supply CO2-neutral milk with my company one day. We have invested in solar panels, among other things. We are also looking at how we can retain more CO2 in the ground,” explains Geert.

In doing so, they are following up on a climate measure by Klimrek – an innovative collaborative project by ILVO, Boerenbond and VITO with the support of VLAIO LA, which aims to support farmers in their ecological progress through a climate scan and guidance process.