Arla has defended its announcement to trial the use of Bovaer, a feed additive which claims to reduce methane emissions from cows ‘on average by 27%.'
It is after some smaller dairies and farmers have publicly distanced themselves from the new project following concerns raised by members of the public around safety.
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Arla farmers
The scheme will work with retail partners Morrisons and Aldi, and with Tesco and around 30 of Arla's farmers owners, to highlight how feed additives can be introduced to normal feeding routines on-farm.
Eddie Andrew from Our Cow Molly in Sheffield is a farmer who processes and sells his own milk from his farm.
He said they had received a lot of messages since the announcement.
Concerns
"So much of my time yesterday has been taken up by customers, on X, on Facebook," he said.
He said the majority were genuine customers who had concerns.
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"They are people who have doorstep deliveries, who come to the ice cream parlour.
"I have had lots of queries about whether we deliver milk to their area."
Methane emissions
He said he believed the industry had always done an ‘awful job' of explaining the methane cycle and he felt like it was ‘another stick to hit farmers with'.
He added the public did not really understand the additive and what it meant that it may be in the milk, so they were naturally concerned by what they had read.
Lancashire milkman, Russell Bretherton said he also had a few customers asking if it was something the farm would be using, which he confirmed they would not be.
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Safety
"One customer asked if it would be in the milk and is it dangerous so we were happy to put their mind at rest knowing that we will not be using it."
Lytham dairy farmer and YouTuber Tom Pemberton runs a family farm shop. He shared a post on his personal instagram page confirming this his cows are '100% not fed this new Bovaer additive.'
A spokesperson for Arla said: "The health and safety of both consumers and animals is always our number one priority. Bovaer has already been extensively and safely used across Europe and at no point during the trial will there be any impact on the milk we produce as it does not pass from the cow into the milk.
"Regulatory bodies, such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and UK Food Standards Agency, have approved its use based on evidence that it does not harm the animals or negatively impact their health, productivity, or the quality of milk."
