Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to support farmers to use methane suppressing feed additives.

Defra considers that methane suppressing feed products are an essential tool to decarbonise the agricultural sector. Ruminant livestock are the leading cause of farm emissions, but feed additives with methane inhibiting properties have the potential to reduce emissions, especially from housed cattle.

In 2022 the UK and devolved Governments launched a call for evidence to better understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of feed products that can reduce methane emissions from livestock. The findings will be used by the UK Government as we further consider policy in this area.

We are committed to working with farmers and industry to stimulate the market and encourage uptake of methane suppressing feed products. In England, we plan to incentivise the uptake of high efficacy products with proven safety once suitable products enter the market. We will work closely with industry to explore the best approach to introduce incentives, which could, for instance include advice, guidance and support for the development and use of products on farms through our existing farming existing schemes or a new bespoke scheme.

Our ambition remains to develop a mature market and mandate the use of safe and effective products in suitable cattle systems in England as soon as feasible and at the very latest by 2030.