Angus cattle on feed at Teys Jindalee feedlot

THE first grainfed cattle agreement targeting methane reduction at significant scale has been launched by Teys Australia and Tasmanian-based feed additive manufacturer Sea Forest.

The distribution agreement aims to see at least an additional 480,000 head of feedlot cattle receiving Sea Forest’s SeaFeed feed additive by the end of June next year.

The target is in addition to existing cattle on feed already contracted with Teys Australia, the statement said. Teys has trialled SeaFeed in its feedlots (Charlton, Jindalee and Condamine) over the past 12 months.

Publicly listed Sea Forest released the details through an ASX statement this morning. Teys personnel were unavailable for comment this afternoon, but we’ll try to circle back with more detail about the project in coming days.

The ASX statement said Teys Australia will be the exclusive distributor of SeaFeed for the beef industry in Australia and New Zealand, subject to achieving certain purchase volume targets.

Sea Forest produces a range of SeaFeed additives for methane mitigation. Some are based on naturally occurring asparagopsis red seaweed grown in land-based seaweed ponds, while others (more recently developed) use factory-made, synthetically-produced compounds identical to the active ingredient in asparagopsis.

It has not been made clear in today’s statement which of these will be used under the Teys agreement. We were able to establish that the agreement covers Sea Forest’s current and future product formats and delivery mediums including oil and lick blocks for pasture use.

Teys Australia feedlot general manager Grant Garey said the agreement reflected the company’s commitment to delivering practical, commercially viable decarbonisation solutions for its cattle producers and beef customers.

“Formalising this distribution agreement lets us help make SeaFeed available to a larger part of the supply chain, giving producers a practical option to consider as part of their own sustainability efforts,” he said.

“This partnership reflects Teys Australia’s ongoing commitment to sustainable, science-backed innovation across the industry.”

The agreement is in place to 2030, with options to extend, the ASX statement said.

Within Teys’ own feedlot operations, the agreement will represent about 70,000 head of cattle on feed, at full utilisation. Beyond that, the target is at least 480,000 cattle on feed (customer network) receiving supplement by June 30 next year.

As part of the deal, Teys will receive preferential pricing, adjusted for transport costs.

Carbon credits

The deal does not necessarily mean that Teys will make methane emissions claims on beef product packs or carton lids at some future time, Beef Central understands. In addition to any productivity advantage, carbon credits from the use of the methane-reducing compounds in feedlots may simply be sold to third parties such as airlines seeking to offset their own carbon footprint, Beef Central has been told.

With methane reducing feed additives typically costing at least $1/head/day to feed, a typical 120-day grainfed program can add $120 to production costs of a grainfed steer.

If say, 40kg of meat from a typical 240kg of boneless beef harvested from a grainfed carcase is grilling cuts (striploin, cube roll, eye fillet and rump) where a ‘low carbon’ claim can be made, it effectively means an extra $3/kg on that product in the market, an export meat trade contact suggested.

“In the current wholesale market environment where beef prices are near record high, worldwide, adding an extra $3/kg for a low carbon claim might be challenging,” the trader told Beef central this afternoon.