July 20, 2011
PetroAlgae micro-crop meal comparable to alfalfa in dairy cattle diets
PetroAlgae Inc. announced the completion of a major third party study showing that PetroAlgae micro-crop meal performs as well as alfalfa in dairy cattle diets.
The study encompassed a continuous six-week feeding trial of a statistically significant sample of 36 dairy cows in the barns at the University of Minnesota. It measured PetroAlgae micro-crop meal against 17.5% protein alfalfa diets for nutrient intake, milk yield and composition.
PetroAlgae''s micro-crop technology employs indigenous, aquatic micro-organisms suitable to local climates and is designed to enable its technology licensees to produce a cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels, a high-value protein co-product, and a new micro-crop meal for animal feed, while absorbing carbon dioxide from greenhouse gas emissions.
The global market for dairy feed from alfalfa alone is estimated at 400 million tonnes by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). PetroAlgae micro-crop meal is expected to be highly competitive with alfalfa and other ingredients based on its positive impact on meat and milk, continuous production, and supply chain advantages, thereby opening a new market for the company and its licensing partners.
The PetroAlgae micro-crop meal had higher dairy efficiency values, and higher unit-for-unit energy values than alfalfa.
"The results of this study show that PetroAlgae micro-crop meal is a desirable ingredient for high producing dairy cattle and that it performed comparably to high-protein alfalfa meal," said Dr Noah Litherland, who performed the study at the University of Minnesota. "We are encouraged to see this product perform so well against one of the more universally understood products in dairy nutrition. Furthermore, as nutritional understanding grows, there are some simple steps that can be taken to optimize the product further and increase its value. There is also an intriguing opportunity to alter the lipid composition of the meat and milk for added human health benefit."
"We are very excited with the findings of Dr Litherland and his team at the University of Minnesota," said Anthony Tiarks, CEO of PetroAlgae. "Confirming our product value against such a large and well-understood feed market is a key step in accelerating our commercialization and opens the door for bringing PetroAlgae micro-crop meal to other species and feed applications. We believe the need for imports and destination market risks in the supply chain can be greatly reduced by utilizing our technology. It can also provide a longer-term supply solution to the decline of forage acres around the world, as competing crops like corn, soy, and cotton displaces forage."
PetroAlgae licenses its commercial micro-crop technology globally.