Effect of SOP “STAR COW” on Enteric Gaseous Emissions and Dairy Cattle Performance

Abstract

Feed additives have received increasing attention as a viable means to reduce enteric emissions from ruminants, which contribute to total anthropogenic methane (CH4) emissions. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of the commercial feed additive SOP STAR COW (SOP) to reduce enteric emissions from dairy cows and to assess potential impacts on milk production. Twenty cows were blocked by parity and days in milk and randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups (n = 10): supplemented with 8 g/day SOP STAR COW, and an unsupplemented control group. Enteric emissions were measured in individual head chambers over a 12-h period, every 14 days for six weeks. SOP-treated cows over time showed a reduction in CH4 of 20.4% from day 14 to day 42 (p = 0.014), while protein % of the milk was increased (+4.9% from day 0 to day 14 (p = 0.036) and +6.5% from day 0 to day 42 (p = 0.002)). However, kg of milk protein remained similar within the SOP-treated cows over the trial period. The control and SOP-treated cows showed similar results for kg of milk fat and kg of milk protein produced per day. No differences in enteric emissions or milk parameters were detected between the control and SOP-treated cows on respective test days.