It's generally best known for marketing a classy and innovative line up of specialty cheeses, but Tasmania's Ashgrove dairy now also lays claim to bottling the world's first commercially available low-emission milk.
The on-farm plant at Elizabeth Town, near Devonport on the island state's north coast, has jumped ahead of much bigger dairy rivals such as Fonterra and Bega in the rush to significantly cut methane levels emitted by the cows supplying its milk.
In February Ashgrove teamed up with Tasmanian seaweed farmer and fledgling specialist stockfeed processor, Sea Forest, to start feeding its milkers a tiny 10 milligram daily ration based on the locally grown asparagopsis seaweed.
The dairy business in the Meander Valley now supplies its newly-launched two-litre bottles of Eco-Milk to Woolworths, Coles, and IGA supermarkets across Tasmania, with hopes of soon extending sales to the mainland.
It claims the new line is produced and distributed with about a quarter of the methane emissions of conventional full cream milks.
Eco-Milk currently sells for $5.50 a bottle, or about 13 cents a litre more than Ashgrove's conventional 3.8pc fat full cream milk, which just won a gold medal at this year's Sydney Royal Cheese and Dairy Produce Show.
The new product is part of a big dairy range from Ashgrove, including organic milk, milk in a keg; farmhouse butter, and garlic and herb infused butter; cream, and a host of widely retailed farmhouse and cloth matured cheeses.
"Ashgrove is proud to be at the forefront of this global decarbonisation challenge, offering a solution rooted in Tasmanian innovation," said managing director, Richard Bennett.
His father and uncle formed the Ashgrove Farm partnership in 1983 on Eddington Farm, where the Bennetts have milked cows for 116 years.
"Eco-Milk embodies our unwavering commitment to environmental stewardship and community wellbeing," Mr Bennett said.
Although demand was not yet adequate enough to encourage Ashgrove to feed all its cows with Seaforest's pricey Seafeed supplement, he hoped many more customers would see the new milk product as a good way for ordinary people to help contribute to cutting Australia's greenhouse gas emissions.
It was also a lot cheaper than buying a Tesla.
Ashgrove's initiative has been made possible by Sea Forest's farming operations on a 1800-hectare marine lease, growing red seaweed in the Mercury Passage off Triabunna, north east of Hobart.
The asparagosis plant, grown in about six metres of water, is processed into the liquid Seafeed product, which is added to the herd's rations during milking.
It effectively interacts with enzymes in the cows' digestive system, bypassing the usual methane production process and ensuring they belch significantly less.
Incorporating Seafeed into their cows' diet has significantly lowered the milking herd's methane footprint without compromising milk quality.
- Sam Elsom, Sea Forest
"Partnering with Ashgrove to launch the world's first low-emission milk is a remarkable milestone for Sea Forest," said CEO and former fashion industry identity, turned seaweed farmer, Sam Elsom.
"Incorporating Seafeed into their cows' diet has significantly lowered the milking herd's methane footprint without compromising milk quality."
Seafeed has also been trialled on commercial beef properties and feedlots in the past three years and been backed by more than 30 peer-reviewed studies.
Trials with NZ dairy giant Fonterra, Japanese brewer, Asahi, and fashion brand, MJ Bale, were looking at how methane emissions may be scaled back across multiple industries and products.
Sea Forest has also partnered with food service brand, Grill'd to create a "game-changer burger" - the world's first low-methane, sustainable grass-fed beef pattie.
Mr Elsom believed Seafeed had potential to reduce methane emissions from livestock by up to 90pc - an important achievement, given methane's global warming impact was about 28 times greater than carbon dioxide.
The company hoped to ramp up Seafeed volumes and shave back its production costs by breaking into the European market.
Beyond Seafeed, Mr Elsom was looking at asparagopsis seaweed-based products with applications in nutraceuticals, bioplastics, and biofuels.
"This Tasmanian pioneering collaboration demonstrates the potential of our methane-mitigating feed product to revolutionise the dairy industry globally," he said.
"We are committed to working with partners like Ashgrove to expand this technology and empower consumers worldwide to make sustainable choices while enjoying delicious and nutritious milk."
Sea Forest was recently recognised by Fast Company as one of the world's most innovative companies for 2024, and listed as a finalist for the 2023 Earthshot Prize.
Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
Andrew Marshall is the group agribusiness writer for ACM's state agricultural weeklies and websites. He is a former editor at The Land and has worked in various Rural Press group roles in Canberra, North Richmond (NSW) and Toowoomba (Qld).
