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Elanco’s Bovaer feed additive approved by FDA

A dairy feed additive that has been available in other countries has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

Katie Cook with Elanco Animal Health says they are pleased the FDA completed its review of the safety and effectiveness of 3-nitrooxypropanol, which they sell under the brand name Bovaer. “It’s a feed ingredient that you would put within the feed, and feeding one tablespoon of Bovaer per lactating dairy cow per day can reduce your methane emissions by about 30% or approximately 1.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.”

Cook says Bovaer is the first meaningful enteric solution available to help producers reach their climate goals.  She says its in granular form, and comes in bags similar to other feed additives, and can be mixed at their feed dealer or on the farm.

Cook tells Brownfield Bovaer brings a unique value proposition to producers. “We anticipate it will bring at least a twenty dollar return per cow per year for your average dairy producer. Now, how that money comes is a little bit different. We’re playing in a new space, so we’re talking about the carbon markets. We also have some government incentives in place as well.”

Cook says with the approval of Bovaer, Elanco teams are working with carbon markets and government agencies to get carbon incentives in place for farmers to use.

Cook says the product is already being manufactured through their partnership with Swedish-based DSM Fermenich, but they need to take care of state and U.S. labeling requirements.  She expects the Bovaer product to be readily available to dairy producers by midsummer.

Cook says the U.S. has only approved Bovaer use on lactating dairy cows. “We’ll be pursuing a beef cattle label here in the coming months, and hope to have that announcement here in the near future.”

Cook says dairy farmers considering Bovaer should reach out to their feed dealer or Elanco representative to learn how to prepare for adding the product to the farm.

Audio: Katie Cook discusses Bovaer’s FDA approval with Brownfield’s Larry Lee