Clover joins global methane reduction effort

Clover Sonoma, the regional dairy joined a global effort to reduce methane emissions.

photo credit: Marc Albert/KRCB
Clover Sonoma committed to cut methane emissions. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas.

Roughly six months after a global initiative was launched to control methane, a potent greenhouse gas, a major Sonoma County dairy has signed on.

The effort launched at the most recent UN climate conference.

"We had two new signatories, Starbucks and Clover Sonoma join the Dairy Methane Action Alliance, a global convening of food companies that are coming together to drive transparency and action that can help tackle methane emissions from the dairy sector, said Katie Anderson with the Environmental Defense Fund, which is behind the effort.

Methane from dairies is generally described by locals as the Sonoma aroma, but manure isn't the only culprit. .

"Scientifically we talk about enteric methane, but to make it more understandable, we call it cow-burps," said Michael Bennedetti, with Clover Sonoma.

Limiting methane means a new approach to manure. Bennedetti says separating solids from liquids, and pelletizing and scattering rather than spraying liquid manure on pastures make a big difference.

Getting cows to belch less though? That means tinkering with their diet. Adding red seaweed appears to get the job done.

"We partnered with a company in 2022," Bennedetti said, "and did a short feeding trial over two months, on one of our dairies, and we saw between a 50 and 80 percent reduction over that time period, so we think it's really promising."

Bennedetti says for Clover, which sees itself as a leader in environmental sustainability and humane treatment of animals, signing on to the effort was kind of a natural.

"It looked like something that was codifying the things we had been hoping to do internally and doing internally for the last five or so years. We have a direct relationship with 28 local farms and that allows us to have really direct conversations. We have the opportunity to take solutions and start to try them maybe more quickly. By joining, we get to share our understandings and challenges with folks that are doing this on a global level, and we really think that's valuable."