Methane Reduction Crisis: Danish Farmers Halt Bovaer Feed!
Widespread cow health issues and reports of poisoning force producers to defy a mandatory government mandate for the 3-NOP additive.
A severe controversy has ignited within the Danish dairy sector after numerous farmers claim the methane-reducing feed additive Bovaer is causing serious health problems in their herds, prompting producers to halt its use despite government mandates. Farmers across the nation, approximately 1,400 of whom began feeding the additive on October 1st, have reported a surge in issues including fevers, diarrhea, fertility problems, cows collapsing, and even deaths. The additive, manufactured by dsm-firmenich, contains the active ingredient 3-nitrooxypropanol (3-NOP) and is designed to cut methane production by up to 30 percent.
he source of the conflict is a mandatory regulatory requirement imposed by the Danish government, which states that all farms with over 50 cows must feed Bovaer for at least 80 days per year, with heavy fines threatened for non-compliance. This regulatory push, however, clashes with farmer experience. For example, Anders Ring, who milks 600 cows in Southern Denmark, reported an “explosion in digital dermatitis”, high somatic-cell counts (SCC), and significant reproductive issues after feeding the product for one month, forcing him to immediately stop the supplement to save his herd and production.
Ring’s operational data underscores the direct impact: his herd, yielding approximately 11,500 $\text{kg}$ of energy-corrected milk per cow per year (sold to Arla), saw an immediate 20 percent drop in SCC just two days after discontinuing Bovaer. Other farmers have reported milk production losses of up to 5 $\text{kg}$ of milk per cow per day and collapsed animals. Ring and other producers are now urgently calling on the government to “see sense” and enforce an immediate “break in the usage” of the additive until the health concerns are fully resolved.
In response to the growing farmer alarm, the Danish Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Jacob Jensen, acknowledged the challenges and stated that the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration is closely following the matter. The producer, dsm-firmenich, maintained its commitment to livestock health and noted it is actively engaging with relevant organizations to investigate the concerns. The company also stated that in previously reported cases, Bovaer was “not identified as a contributing factor” to the health problems.
To gather objective data, the Danish Agriculture & Food Council for Cattle has launched an online survey, urging farmers experiencing issues to report their problems. While expressing surprise that problems are emerging since no large-scale trials had indicated issues, the Council emphasized that animal welfare must not be compromised. This data-gathering effort is intended to quickly learn more about the reported adverse effects and find definitive solutions for the nearly 1,400 dairy farmers currently caught between a health crisis and a legislative mandate.
Gain a complete picture of the Bovaer feed crisis in the report by Citizen Tribune.
Source : Dairynews7x7 Nov 15th 2025 Article sharing by our partner channel edairynews.com