You can buy all kinds of milk in the supermarket these days, but would you pay more for a dairy that’s better for the environment?
Tasmanian dairy business Ashgrove hopes customers will.
It’s teamed up with seaweed farmer Sea Forest, to produce what it calls a world first climate-friendly milk at Elizabeth Town in the state’s north.
“For people that are really conscious about climate change and methane emissions that we’re emitting, we think its a really good way people can contribute,” said Ashgrove managing director Richard Bennett.
“It’s a lot cheaper than buying a Tesla or an electric car, paying a little bit more for your milk every week.”
Carbon cutting seaweed
To cut methane emissions for its new line of full cream milk, Ashgrove is feeding one of its dairy herds a supplement called SeaFeed.
It’s derived from asparagopsis, a red seaweed native to Tasmania and farmed by Sea Forest at Triabunna on the state’s east coast.
Ashgrove is feeding the supplement, while the cows are being milked in the dairy.
It interacts with enzymes in the cows’ digestive system, so they burp less.
The herd has been on the supplement for six weeks and the company’s initial goal is to reduce methane emissions from its milk by 30 per cent.
“When we bring the cows in, we normally feed them a muesli mix and we’re able to add the supplement to that,” Mr Bennett said.
“We’re feeding them 10 milligrams, so it’s literally like having a fish oil tablet in the morning.”
Cost to consumers
Efforts to reduce Ashgrove’s carbon footprint does come at a cost.
Customers will pay 12.5 cents a litre more than its other full-cream milk.
Sea Forest chief executive officer Sam Elsom said it’s an important partnership in what’s been a long journey to commercialise its product.
“This is a world-first in terms of a low-emissions milk offering to consumers, ” he said.
“But as we increase our supply to industry, so too will the costs come down significantly.”
“We have the capacity to feed about four million head of livestock, we’re feeding less than 100,000 at the moment.
“We’ve got sufficient assets in Tassie to be able to support the whole of the state really to reduce its emissions.”
Sea Forest has been pursuing markets in the UK and Europe where governments there have been more aggressive with cutting emissions from agriculture.
Mr Elsom said there’s more of a financial incentive for farmers there to use a seaweed supplement too.
“There is a carbon price that is more than double ours.
“Farmers are also being rewarded for using these supplements. So we’ve got a different operating environment in Europe.”
Hoping for market support
Is there enough of an incentive to feed seaweed to Ashgrove’s entire herd?
Mr Bennett admits that’ll depend on customer demand for its Eco-Milk.
“We are a commercial business and without government intervention, it’ll live and die by the success of the product,” he said.
“So we’re really hoping people get behind it.
“Wearing the major cost to our consumers is difficult in the long run.”
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