A group of researchers in Belgium determined that cattle feed composed of spent grains—byproducts of the brewing process—could lower cattle methane levels by as much as 13 percent.
The Flemish Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), the group behind the study, said spent grains mostly consisting of leftover chaff and proteins from barley were key to cutting the emissions.
However, the benefit only happened when the spent grains were combined with canola meal—a byproduct of canola oil.
“If we only add spent grains to the feed, there is no less methane,” Sam De Campeneere, scientific director of the Animal Department at ILVO, said announcing the results.
“We cannot yet explain why that is so.” A Belgian farmer whose cattle were involved in the study said his cattle enjoyed eating the feed as well.
“The cows like to eat the spent grains,” he told ILVO. “Better for the cow and better for the environment: a win-win, therefore.”
