Norway Pauses Use of Fart-Reducing Cattle Feed in Wake of Danish Cow-Tastrophe
Danish farmers are backing away from the use of Bovaer despite the government mandate.
Denmark’s farmers have recently been reporting that their cows are collapsing and suffering illness after eating feed containing a methane-reducing additive called Bovaer.
Use of this feed is now legally required for many farms in Denmark as part of its national climate policy. Some farmers claim their cattle experienced severe symptoms after eating the additive-infused feed, including collapse, lethargy, reduced feed intake, fever, diarrhea, miscarriages, and significant drops in milk production.
Based on these complaints, another Scandinavian country poised to implement the same policy is halting the move.
In Norway, the government had mandated the use of Bovaer as an additive in all dairy cows starting in 2027 as part of its climate action plan. However, the Norwegian state-subsidised milk cooperative, Tine – which has a monopoly on the nation’s dairy industry – has now put the use of Bovaer on hold until they have carried out an investigation.
Norsk Melkeråvare is the largest milk supplier in Norway, operating as the leading dairy cooperative managing the sourcing and distribution of milk from Norwegian farmers. The company has temporarily suspended the use of the methane-reducing feed.
Bovaer use has been paused in Norway after reports from Denmark of cows collapsing and reduced milk yields. On 12 November 2025, milk supplier Norsk Melkeråvare said it would suspend the methane‑reducing feed additive on Norwegian dairy farms as a precaution while awaiting more information on alleged adverse effects observed in some Danish herds.
Norsk Melkeråvare has halted Bovaer “until further notice” under the precautionary principle. The company says there are no documented negative effects linked to the additive in Norway, but the pause aims to secure clarity before broader roll‑out. Officials and industry partners will reassess once new data from Denmark and ongoing Norwegian trials are reviewed.
Danish farmers are backing away from using Bovaer despite the government mandate. Those who have stopped using the additive-infused feed have noticed an improvement in their animals.
Reports from approximately 1,400 farmers who began using the additive on October 1st indicate issues such as fevers, diarrhea, and fertility problems, with some cases resulting in cow deaths. The additive, produced by dsm-firmenich, is intended to reduce methane emissions by up to 30% through its active ingredient, 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP).
The Danish government’s mandate requires farms with over 50 cows to use Bovaer for at least 80 days annually, imposing fines for non-compliance. However, many farmers report adverse effects, prompting a call to suspend the mandate. Anders Ring, a farmer in Southern Denmark, observed a spike in digital dermatitis and high somatic-cell counts after using the additive, leading to a halt in its use to protect his herd.
Ring noted that after discontinuing Bovaer, his herd’s somatic-cell counts dropped by 20% within two days, though milk production losses were reported at up to 5 kg per cow per day. Farmers like Ring are urging the government to pause the mandate until the health issues are fully investigated.
Meanwhile, Arla Foods, owner of the largest dairy co-operative in the United Kingdom, has halted its trial use of the additive and is now reviewing test results from 30 farms before deciding on future use.
The launch of the Bovaer supplement trial last year saw concerns raised over food safety, as well as misinformation and conspiracy theories posted online, with videos on social media showing people flushing milk down the toilet in protest.
Bovaer is now the focus of an investigation in Denmark after farmers raised fresh concerns but manufacturer DSM-Firmenich said the additive was “proven, effective and safe”.
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Comments
Since methane gas can readily be used to generate electricity, the cow’s flatulence should be harvested and employed as the motive fuel in Moo-Clear power plants.
That’s actually a thing is some very high tech dairy operations.
I see a Matrix reboot there. With cows. Not sure we could have a Neo bull, but the virtual reality world would be a lot easier to code.
It was done in Dartmouth BASIC over 50 years ago.
This is already happening. The manure pits are constructed out of concrete and a cap is put on them allowing the trapping and harvesting of methane. It is expensive to set up but does allow the methane harvesting until there is enough manure to spread on the field.
Here is an example that a friend of mine helped build https://www.vtfarmtoplate.com/stories/digester-dairy-farm. It’s prohibitively expensive without state or federal subsidies but does seem to work.
Water vapor holds more heat than CO2.
Did the UN have a problem with trying to pass off water vapor as a dangerous gas, like they lied about the dangers of 0.4% carbon dioxide in the atmosphere?
Of course the outrage over methane is silly. I just pointed out that capturing it from manure pits and using it to generate electricity is happening on a small, test scale right now. If it comes down in cost then it’s essentially free power but if that feed is forced on dairy farmers then that stops that source of power in its tracks.
I didn’t know you could even fit 1,400 farmers into Denmark. Much less their cows.
I wonder (since there don’t seem to be reports of bad things from Norway) if there are breed differences or diet differences. Eating different proportions of hay/grass, different kinds of grass, etc. might change things. It’s a wonder (not really) they didn’t do some testing with this chemical, similar to testing of drugs on humans, across different populations. But, “experts,” so….
I sure the cows will feel better as soon as they’ve had a mooster shot.
Finland hasn’t implemented its use yet. It was scheduled to commence in 2027 but they put the brakes on because of Denmark’s issues.
“ Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
– C. S. Lewis
Trust me. Any methane as a result of bovine flattus is utterly insignificant. Large mammals have roamed the earth’s plains for eons and not caused catastrophe.
“Climate change” is complete bunk and it’s well past time for the moral busybodies to STFU.
You are correct that cow farts are relatively insignificant in terms of adding methane to the environment. That is not because cows aren’t a significant contributor to atmospheric methane (estimated at 6%) but rather because 97% of their methane emissions are from burps (belching), not farts.
I believe termites are the greatest producers of methane out of all production of the gas among living things on land. They use similar gut bacteria to break down cellulose and they far exceed the biomass of the world’s domestic cattle.
I remember reading that once. I think cows both dairy and beef produce about 3x the methane termite mounds do. Still quite a bit.
If it does this to the cows, what is the effect on their milk, and those who consume it?
Following up on this train of thought; there are a number of tasty imported dairy products from Denmark [cheeses largely] and other food products that contain cow milk as an ingredient. What would be the pucker factor for Danish agriculture officials if our FDA decided to put a hold on their import until WE tested them to be sure that they are safe? FDA testing takes an awful long time, and food product exports are a not insignificant part of Danish foreign exchange.
Subotai Bahadur
bubbles in the milk
I understand Aldi’s is one of the chains conducting bovaer safety experiments with their milk customers.
Bovaer senior vice president Mark Van Nieuwland told the ABC the product had been tested widely and branded the conspiracy theories surrounding it ‘fake news’.
Where have we heard that before? Tobacco? Jabs for the CCP-Fauci virus? Cokehead Biden laptop?
Really Leslie? Cow-Tastrophe?
I expect better. 😉
Good headline writing is a bull-wark of any good writer against an important article being ignored.
Would be udder foolishness not to call attention to this EU nanny state nonsense.
Aye, indeed, I would have a beef with such a judgmental person – and if I saw any man try to knock LI’s efforts, I would think “How dair-y scold the headline writers attempts to get attention through clever word smithing?” before proceeding to gore his ox.
And if anyone else wants to horn in on this discussion or try to steer me away from my point of view, well I am here to exercise my freedom of speech – it’s my God-given bovine right.
(PS- And I won’t be apologizing for any of what I said but if I did, I would apologize for that very last pun only, it was a bit weak)
Safe and effective, safe and effective, safe and effective!
Then why are so many cows suffering adverse effects?
Silence heretic! Do not question your betters!
and this is why I hate that trump has moved into taking financial positions in companies
governments are to catch the bad people
once you become intermingled aka socialism ….the conflict of interest is too strong to overcome and that leads to communism
for your own good ,,of course
The methane-producing bacteria are an essential part of digestion for cattle. They need to ferment grass to get nutrition out of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cattle weren’t malnourished.
Were malnourished, that is…
No. Methane is a byproduct of digestion and exists as a way to get rid of excess free hydrogen from the digestion process. It does not play a part in the breaking down of plant material.
They invented a drug that interferes with a cow’s digestive system and then scratch their heads when cows start getting sick or dropping dead. Perhaps instead of giving it to cows, we could mandate that Vegans eat it instead.
Indeed. No one more flatulent than a vegan.
Labor Party, democrats, CFR, UN, and WEF members.
History is just a serious of ignorant people exclaiming “what could possibly go wrong,”
“So much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don’t even know that fire is hot.”
–George Orwell
Gee, who would have thought that messing with the digestive process of animals that are raised and kept because the products of their digestive process are beneficial to humans could possibly go wrong?
Sounds like the cows are full of hot air.
Seriously though, this is a ruminant mammal that relies heavily on bacterial symbiosis (bacteria that aid it’s digestion to produce methane) to extract nutrients. If you starve those microflora, you are putting this animal in an unhealthy state.
How thick do you have to be to assume nothing will go wrong with this type of feed?
Did you know that cows, rabbits, and other animals cannot digest the cellulose in grasses and other plants? They rely on gut bacteria to do it.
is chick fila behind any of this???
It is the height of hubris for man to suppose that he can improve upon Mother Nature.
Eat the bugs, they’re killing the cows.
Plus, eating the bugs stops the weather! Win-win!
Something doesn’t add up. Bovaer has been around for years and is used all over the world but this is the first time we have heard of problems like this. I wouldn’t put it into the feed for my dairy herd as introducing anything that may affect digestion although this appears to act after the digestion would be a no go. Bovines digest like they do for a reason.
Not really. The first “successful” trials were in 2010, and approvals for use only began in 2021 in Brazil and Chile. The EU authorized it in 2022, and the FDA approved it just last year.
Canada also approved it for dairy cattle in 2024.
I wonder how the trials measured success … just by the methane reduction?
It is used in a number of countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, USA and several European countries.
That the road to Hell is paved with good intentions is proven valid every day.
It’s amazing that people would worry about the farts of a few cows when at one time 30 to 60 million bison roamed the Great Plains of the United States and we weren’t having any problems. You all need to follow the money and stop killing your cows, and if the cows are dying I would be more concerned about what the milk is doing to you.
Plants break down to methane, which in turn breaks down to CO2, whether or not they are eaten by a cow. Anti-methane policies are really anti-plant.
Bill Gates needs to add Norway to his email list.
And this poison gets into the milk. Bet that is real healthy for consumers.