Microencapsulated聽B-vitamins聽help dairy cows produce more milk with fewer聽emissions
A new international study led by 九色视频 in collaboration with聽 shows that supplementing dairy cow diets with聽microencapsulated B-vitamins聽can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while increasing milk yield and quality. The use聽of the聽feed additive聽cut聽global warming potential, an internationally standardized measure of climate impact,聽by up to 18 per cent across seven countries.聽聽
The researchers聽calculated that its use in Canada alone would聽reduce carbon emissions by聽half a million tonnes.聽To arrive at that聽figure, they聽considered聽emissions聽not only聽from聽cows and their manure, but also from other components of dairy production.聽such as feed storage聽and聽transport.聽
鈥淟ivestock聽production聽contributes about 11 to 19 per cent of global emissions, and feed is one of the most accessible levers producers can adjust,鈥� said聽Ebenezer Miezah Kwofie, study co-author and Assistant Professor of聽Bioresource Engineering聽at 九色视频. 鈥淥ur goal was to look at what can be done to minimize emissions with feed additives and determine how variation from one region to another changes the dynamic.鈥澛�
Working with cows鈥� biology聽
Most vitamin supplements degrade in the rumen, the cow鈥檚 second stomach, before they can be fully absorbed. The team used microencapsulated B-vitamins designed to bypass the rumen and release nutrients in the small intestine, where absorption is highest.聽
鈥淯sually, non-protected vitamins are used after calving, when lactation puts a lot of stress on the animal,鈥� said聽, PhD student and study co-author. 鈥淭his way, they get appropriately released.鈥澛�
This improved nutritional efficiency led to higher milk output and higher fat and protein content, key factors in how milk is priced. Because cows produced more milk per unit of feed consumed, the environmental impact per聽kilogram聽of milk decreased. This also reduced pressure on agricultural land and water resources needed to grow feed crops.聽
Study design and regional variation聽
The industry partner involved in this project conducted聽trials聽on commercial farms聽in North America, South America,聽Europe聽and Australia,聽with durations ranging from 120 to聽213 days聽of lactation. Diets were standardized for ingredients and nutritional composition so researchers could isolate the effect of the additive.聽
Environmental impacts were assessed using聽聽and the International Dairy Federation鈥檚 guide,聽which evaluates life-cycle emissions from the聽cradle聽to the聽farm聽gate. The researchers focused on global warming potential per kilogram of fat-protein corrected milk (FPCM), a standard measure that accounts for milk鈥檚 energy content and allows fair comparison across regions.聽
Regional differences helped the team evaluate how variations聽in feed and climate influence the supplement鈥檚 effectiveness. The additive鈥檚 strongest effects were found in Latin America, with reductions as high as 18 per cent in Mexico and 10 per cent in Chile.聽聽
The environmental cost of producing and transporting the additive was minimal, contributing less than 0.02 per cent to the total聽carbon聽footprint per kilogram of聽FPCM.聽
Next steps聽
The team聽said they聽plan to model national-level adoption scenarios and explore combinations with other additives,聽including聽those聽that聽more aggressively target methane emissions. They also hope to develop tools to help farmers communicate emissions reductions to retailers and consumers.聽
About this study
鈥�,鈥� by Prince Agyemang, Ebenezer M.聽Kwofie, Ludovic Lahaye, Melissa Otis, Emilie Fontaine, Victoria Asselstine, Aubin Payne and Greg聽Thoma, was published in聽Sustainable Production and Consumption聽in October聽2025.聽
