For decades, sodium bicarbonate has been used in dairy cow rations to help regulate rumen pH and mitigate the development of acidosis, as well as being part of a heat stress management strategy. It allows dairy producers to meet different production aims in a cost-effective way, and is extensively used to help support healthy, high producing cows globally.
Today, there is an increasing focus on sustainability for the whole dairy sector, and how this can be made more resilient and less GHG intensive. This means sustainable use of resources and, for diets, considering the effect that each ingredient in a formulation has on the overall footprint. In addition, the indirect effects of using the ingredient on the production system need consideration.
In a balanced feed ration, buffers such as sodium bicarbonate allow for higher production with reduced GHG footprint, preventing negative health effects such as acidosis that increase emission intensity.
As part of a dietary management strategy during heat stress, sodium bicarbonate can help to restore production, increase feed efficiency and dilute GHG emissions over a larger share of product, so decreasing the system’s GHG intensity.
In addition to its focus on milk production, Solvay has committed itself to a sustainability strategy with challenging targets in carbon neutrality and water usage. This will allow Solvay to significantly reduce the footprint of Bicar®Z, its sodium bicarbonate, as part of a carbon neutral future.
Today, we speak with Dr. Patrik Neuhaus, Technical Marketing Manager in the Soda Ash and Derivatives Business about what that means for the dairy sector.
[Feedinfo] What can you tell us about your ambitious sustainability strategy? What will you be doing to significantly reduce the footprint of Bicar®Z?
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Dr. Patrik Neuhaus |
[Dr. Patrik Neuhaus] We are looking closely at our own production and manufacturing footprint, including our raw materials. Regarding our CO2-footprint, our sustainability team has determined our direct and indirect emissions (Scope 1 and 2) that are related to the manufacture of Bicar®Z; this gives us the possibility of collaborating with our customers and partners to share information about our CO2 footprint upon request. As we control these emissions ourselves, they are also our main focus for the energy transition and decarbonisation. |
For 2030, we have ambitions to reduce our GHG emissions worldwide by 30% in line with the 2015 Paris agreement and be free of coal for energy production.
For Scope 3 emissions, the entire Solvay group has a target of 24% reduction by 2030, compared with our 2018 baseline.
Currently, for 2025, we are on track to reduce emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by more than 20%, with additional projects on clean energy which include increased use of biomass and waste to produce energy, allowing for further reduction later this decade.
In addition, our sustainability team is currently collecting and analysing further data for a complete life-cycle analysis of Bicar®Z, which should be available next year and can then be made available to our customers upon request.
[Feedinfo] By significantly reducing the footprint of Bicar®Z, what impact will this have on rations, and the footprint of your customers?
[Dr. Patrik Neuhaus] As mentioned above, there is our internal commitment to be carbon neutral before 2050 for the whole group. After this achievement, there will be no net GHG emissions associated with the production of Bicar®Z; customers can benefit from this in their own GHG calculations. While sodium bicarbonate is an essential part of a balanced ration in dairy, the externally supplied amount of sodium bicarbonate does, in general, only have a relatively small weighting for the overall GHG footprint in dairy rations, as all minerals combined in a ration only represent no more than around 3% of a typical ration. Our share of this can then be totally neglected in the future, while the benefits of its usage can still be exploited.
[Feedinfo] What impact does adding sodium bicarbonate to rations have on cows? Does it have a meaningful contribution to production and sustainability?
[Dr. Patrik Neuhaus] While the main source of sodium bicarbonate for ruminants is endogenous production via saliva and rumen epithelium exchange mechanism [VFA-bicarbonate exchange], dietary use is important. If the animal is, for any reason, in misbalance from its homeostatic state, the addition of dietary sodium bicarbonate will have a noticeable and substantial effect. Generally, sodium bicarbonate as a buffer and mineral supplement is connected with higher feed intake and better resource efficiency, as it will increase NDF digestibility.
[Feedinfo] So, in practical terms, when would you choose to use it, and what impact will it have on sustainability?
[Dr. Patrik Neuhaus] Typical applications of sodium bicarbonate would be in cases where cows are at risk of acidosis or subacute rumen acidosis (SARA), or to mitigate the negative effects of heat stress.
Acidosis and SARA negatively impact the main sustainability pillars as they influence animal health (e.g., causing laminitis problems, lameness) and animal welfare (e.g., increased inflammation, barrier properties of rumen epithelium reduced, reduced fertility). Acidosis reduces economic sustainability due to lower production and changes in milk composition, reducing farmer income, even more so if a vet is required. The environmental pillar is also affected, as reduced feed intake and efficiency lead to a higher GHG intensity per kg of fat and protein corrected milk (FPCM). Long term effects, such as reduced longevity, would increase GHG intensity even more.
Lowering rumen pH is also known to be a viable methane mitigation strategy, but only as long as the detrimental effects of acidosis and SARA can be avoided. Buffering the pH in a balanced way with sodium bicarbonate will therefore allow the dairy industry to positively impact multiple sustainability pillars at the same time.
[Feedinfo] With climate change impacting global temperatures, are there any sustainability impacts in relation to heat stress?
[Dr. Patrik Neuhaus] Heat stress has a number of detrimental effects on cows, all negatively affecting the main sustainability pillars (environmental, social, economic). It is connected with compromised reproduction and reduced fertility as well as affecting animal health and welfare. It also reduces feed intake and leads to changes in rumen fermentation; feed efficiency is reduced and milk production lowered, with measurable economic consequences and a higher GHG footprint (on per kg FPCM basis).
In addition, we know from scientific reports that heat stress is to become more intense, more frequent and of longer duration in the future.
In order to cope with this, a multipronged approach that considers adaptation and mitigation measures is needed. Within this, sodium bicarbonate will be an effective way to re-establish optimal rumen function and replenish lost essential minerals, leading to increased milk production and improved feed efficiency, as well as providing additional protection against ruminal acidosis. This is especially important during times of heat stress, as cows’ feed intake pattern changes to less frequent meals with reduced dry matter intake but bigger individual meals, while ruminating less. Using a sodium bicarbonate product such as Bicar®Z, will lead to uniform feed intake and fermentation, making resource use more efficient.
[Feedinfo] What research have you done which demonstrates these points?
[Dr. Patrik Neuhaus] Both heat stress and acidosis have been studied extensively in the literature and by us, and therefore I would focus on the less obvious indirect effects that can be associated with these conditions. The direct effects, as mentioned above, are inevitably increasing the GHG intensity per kg of milk produced and reducing the system’s sustainability and we demonstrated the effectiveness of Bicar®Z for these conditions in a Feedinfo Perspective last year.
Generally, there is a vast amount of scientific literature studying dairy emissions and sustainability. For cow fertility, for example, research concluded that CH4 emissions could be decreased by 10-11% and ammonia (precursor of N2O) emissions by about 9% by restoring average fertility rates in dairy cattle to those achieved in 1995. One of our studies with 52 cows in North-Rhine Westphalia found that cows consuming 240g Bicar®Z had a 50% reduction in fertility problems [vs. the non-Bicar®Z group], resulting overall in 15.3% less loss of animals due to infertility. Among the study sample, there was also a 59.1% success rate in the first insemination of cows consuming Bicar®Z compared to 35.7% for the non-Bicar®Z group. Additionally, no udder nor foot problems in the Bicar®Z group have been found, a finding that was repeated in another study conducted by us on 72 dairy cows with the Landwirtschaftskammer Holstein; this found no requirement for udder treatment when using Bicar®Z (vs. two for the control group).
As SARA can activate a systemic inflammatory response and increase the permeability of the blood-milk and rumen barrier, it is often associated with increases in (metabolic) mastitis cases. From scientific studies it was estimated that GHG emissions of cows with clinical mastitis increased on average by 6.2% compared with cows without clinical mastitis, with other studies estimating that emission intensity is 6-8% higher with mastitis on average.
The last study we conducted, which is mentioned above, also found 22% less hoof problems and 50% fewer overall treatments recorded, despite higher energy content in the ration for cows that received 250g of Bicar®Z [vs. the reference]. In consequence, usage of Bicar®Z reduced fertility treatments by 62.5% and hoof treatments by 25%. This can have implications for the footprint, as independent research found that GHG emissions increased on average by 1.5% per case of foot lesion, with effects of white line disease having the highest influence (4.3% increase) and digital dermatitis the lowest (0.4%) in the study.
Lameness is often seen as consequence of acidosis and also comes with lower feed efficiency. Avoiding these diseases through stable rumen function could also lead to less antibiotic usage, keeping these essential tools effective for the future.
[Feedinfo] Can you tell us more about using sodium bicarbonate products such as yours in a practical situation?
[Dr. Patrik Neuhaus] Sodium bicarbonate is easy to use and very safe as it is non-toxic with no risk of resistance or residues. It is usually fed at a rate of 250g per day per cow and has a high palatability in TMRs, as well as being easy to use for premixing. Combining the experiences of our customers with the positive effects it exerts as buffer and mineral supplement drives the demand for sodium bicarbonate, which remains resilient. Bicar®Z is a trusted solution for livestock farmers, zootechnical nutritionists and vets around the world. This, coupled with our own commitment towards Bicar®Z and our path to carbon neutrality will allow us to serve our customers with an ever more sustainable sodium bicarbonate in the future.
Published in association with Solvay
