Grape waste helps control unwanted emissions!

New research by scientists in Victoria, Australia have found a convenient and practical use for the leftover material from wine-making - feeding it to dairy cows! After experimental trials in which cows were fed a diet supplemented with the stems, seeds and skins left over from making red wine, material known as grape marc, the methane emissions from dairy cows dropped by 20 per cent. The study, conducted at the Victorian Department of Primary Industries dairy research centre, also found that the cows' milk production increased by 5 per cent and the healthy fatty acids in their milk also rose by six times more than that control group fed with conventional fodder.

The department's scientist Peter Moate believes the study is the first of its kind in the world to measure the methane emissions from cows fed grape marc, as well as the feed supplement's impact on milk. The key finding of the project was the substantial reduction in methane emissions from cows fed grape marc so it could help both the environment and agriculture.