Almond hulls from Australian orchards may help New Zealand dairy cows cut methane emissions, lift milk yield and lower feed costs, according to early results from pilot farms near Tokoroa in South Waikato. Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), which has run a milk plant at Tokoroa since 2023, has had supplier farms trialling almond hulls and shells for two seasons and is working with agencies to measure methane reduction.

'The initial results have been very positive,' chief operating officer dairy Naval Sabri told Rural News. Ofi, one of two divisions of the Singapore-based Olam Group, owns almond orchards and processing plants in Victoria; Australian dairy farmers have already used almond hulls successfully as a fibre source in pasture-based systems, which gives the company confidence the model can work in New Zealand.

The feed is supplemented with Agolin Ruminant, a plant-extract additive that may reduce methane and improve feed conversion, supporting milk yield. The trials are also testing how to package and transport the feed efficiently to keep input costs down — a practical use of an existing ofi business and supply chain, Mr Sabri said.

Hulls replace some feed supplements with a higher carbon footprint and give farmers an alternative when pasture growth is under pressure, but he cautioned they are not a silver bullet: New Zealand consumes a lot of feed, and 'it's not a universal solution for the entire New Zealand system — it's just one tool in a toolbox.' Palm kernel expeller remains a large part of the country's dairy feed and a frequent target of environmental campaigners.

Ofi's global customers, themselves trying to cut their carbon footprints, have welcomed the trial — an intervention that, in Mr Sabri's words, solves a few things at once.

Source: Rural News Group