Learn more about Bovaer® and how it reduces methane emissions from lactating dairy cows.

We understand that consumers may have questions about how cattle are raised and what goes into their diet. As a company, we’re committed to bringing safe, effective and scientifically proven innovations to farmers that help them improve animal health and wellbeing and raise livestock more sustainably. Bovaer is a first-in-class methane reducing feed ingredient. In May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration completed a comprehensive, multi-year review of Bovaer and determined the product meets safety and efficacy requirements to be fed to lactating dairy cattle.

Bovaer is a safe, effective feed ingredient mixed into the feed that a lactating dairy cow eats to help reduce methane emissions. Feeding Bovaer to cattle has proven to be safe for animals, producers and consumers. Bovaer is not present in milk.

Bovaer is the most extensively studied and scientifically proven methane-reducing feed ingredient, with more than 15 years of research and more than 85 peer-reviewed published articles. Regulatory authorities around the world, including the FDA, the UK Food Standards Agency, and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), have completed multi-year reviews confirming the safety and efficacy of Bovaer for use in lactating dairy cattle. Today, Bovaer is available in more than 68 countries. 

Approximately one tablespoon of Bovaer per day in the diet of a lactating dairy cow reduces enteric methane emissions by about 30% or about 1.2 metric tons annually. Bovaer works by suppressing the enzyme that creates methane while cows digest their food. As it acts, the feed ingredient is safely broken down into natural compounds, which are already present and processed by the cow’s normal digestive and metabolic processes. Due to its extensive metabolism, milk from animals fed Bovaer is safe for human consumption.

Feeding one million lactating dairy cows Bovaer reduces emissions equivalent to removing 285,000 gasoline powered cars from the road annually.

As world leaders look for ways to reduce methane emissions to meet sustainability and climate goals, Bovaer represents a safe and science-based opportunity. Environmental organizations, including the Environmental Defense Fund and the Global Research Alliance on Agriculture Greenhouse Gases have publicly recognized Bovaer’s methane-reducing opportunity.

Elanco is proud to bring Bovaer to U.S. dairy farms, working alongside the entire dairy value chain, including the milk cooperatives, food companies and farmers, to help the dairy industry meet their sustainability and climate goals and continue to meet consumer demand for more sustainable dairy products.