A $12-million initiative to fund innovators tackling methane emissions from Canada’s cattle herds has announced 13 semi-finalists which are exploring solutions in the field.

Methane is 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming the climate over a 20-year period, and is responsible for 13 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately a quarter of Canada’s methane comes from agriculture, government data says.

Methane is short-lived (around 12 years) compared to carbon dioxide, which can exist in the atmosphere for centuries. This has led to actions to reduce methane emissions for more immediate effective climate action, including as clamping down on methane leaks in oil and gas infrastructure.

The Canadian government has pledged to cut its methane emissions 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030.

Impact Canada, a federal government program, jointly launched the Agricultural Methane Reduction Challenge in November 2023 with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to fund organizations acting to cut methane emissions from the cow-calf, dairy and feed-lot sectors.

Out of 86 applicants, the field has been narrowed to 13 semi-finalists which can receive up to $153,846 and move on to the prototype development stage.

The innovators

Impact Canada is searching for solutions to reduce methane emitted from cattle digestion, which is responsible for 86 per cent of methane from agriculture.

On the feed side: 

• Dairy cooperative Agropur from Saint-Hubert, Que. developing a scalable feed strategy for dairy farms using a linseed-based feed ingredient;
• Toronto-based Ample Agriculture which is behind a feed additive that reduces the fitness of methane-producing microbes in the rumen of livestock to favour organisms that “redirect energy away from methane and towards meat and milk production,”; and
• Pond Technologies in Markham, Ont., creating a feed additive that reduces methane emissions and increases cattle growth and milk production.

Selection of low-methane cattle also emerged as an innovation:

• AbacusBio headquartered in Edmonton, is developing a tool to select cows based on the projected enteric methane emissions from their offspring;
• Semex, a company from Guelph, Ont. behind a breeding protocol strategy that enables farmers to select cattle that will produce less methane, and to measure, record and verify the methane reductions; and
• the University of Saskatchewan’s methodology of calculating the impact of choosing genetic traits that let cattle eat and digest more fibre while potentially generating less methane.

Technological developers include:

• Montreal-based Mon Système Fourrager, a company creating a tool using artificial intelligence to optimize fodder production, which helps producers use strategies that reduce methane emissions;
• Sustainable Bio Security Inc. headquartered in Waterdown, Ont. that employs ozone to improve the health of cattle in dairy farms, reducing methane production;
• TerraWave Radar Solutions Inc. in Grande Pointe, Man., which employs drones and radio waves to analyze soil for sustainable agricultural practices such as identifying areas that have optimal grazing;
• Université Laval in Quebec City, developing a biofilter embedded with bacteria that consume methane, turning the gas into carbon dioxide and water;
• WaterPuris based in Vaughan, Ont., developing “nanobubbles” and sensors for animal health, aimed at reducing methane emissions from livestock;
• the University of Saskatchewan, for products that can be added to drinking water for beef cattle grazing systems; and
• ArkeaBio in Calgary, developing a vaccine that would create antibodies for the bacteria that produce methane in the digestive systems of cattle. 

The future of the challenge

Impact Canada says the semi-finalists may be eligible for additional funding up to $230,000 over the next eight months.

Up to 10 finalists will be chosen in the spring of 2026. Eligible finalists will receive up to $500,000 to aid in the testing of their solutions.

Finalists will compete for one of two prizes up to $1 million, which will be announced at the end of 2028.