No bull: Seaweed vs. methane equals world's first eco-friendly milk

You get an eco-friendly milk, according to two Tasmanian-based companies.

Dairy producer Ashgrove, in partnership with environmental technology company SeaForest, have launched Ashgrove Eco-Milk - the world's first climate-friendly milk by feeding cows a seaweed supplement.

"It's probably the most exciting product we've had at Ashgrove for many, many years," Ashgrove managing director Richard Bennett said.

"We're hoping to reduce our emissions initially by 25 per cent - and hopefully even more in the future," he said.

"We're a family farm; our family has been farming this land here since 1908.

"We're here for the long term, and we're about a sustainable community and a sustainable environment."

By partnering with SeaForest, Ashgrove feeds their dairy cattle a dietary supplement called SeaFeed, derived from seaweed.

According to Mr Bennett, it's like taking a fish oil capsule at breakfast.

"There's absolutely no taste difference. It's still our great tasting fresh milk. It's pretty much like feeding the cows fish oil, so it doesn't come through into the milk at all," Mr Bennett said.

Founded in 2018, SeaForest is a Tasmanian-based company using science to combat climate change "by being the first in the world to cultivate asparagopsis at a commercial scale".

"When we saw what SeaForest were doing in Tassie, we just thought, what an amazing solution. It's a global problem, but this is a great Tassie innovation and something that we wanted to be part of," Mr Bennett said.

According to SeaForest CEO Sam Elsom, asparagopsis is an abundant seaweed that is native to the waters around Tasmania - and grows at a fast rate.

"It provides a really exciting opportunity for us to be able to build a business and have a solution for a company like Ashgrove," SeaForest CEO Sam Elsom said.

He said seaweed is an exciting new industry for Australia as it is a zero input crop, meaning it doesn't require pesticides, fertilisers or irrigation.

"The way it works is that it reacts with enzymes in the final stages of digestion and stops methane being produced or burped by the animals," Mr Elsom said.

SeaForest has on-site facilities in Triabunna and Swansea. Mr Elsom said there are two methods of growing seaweed: in the water and - surprisingly - on land.

"We utilise a large marine lease in Mercury Passage and we grow the seaweed on structures that are submerged below the surface," he said.

"It only takes between eight to 10 weeks for that seaweed to grow, and it's grown within the water column so it doesn't disrupt the benthos or the seabed or any of the natural marine biodiversity.

"We also grow seaweed on land. So we utilise the seawater that comes in - and the carbon and the nutrients that come from the seawater - and obviously the sunlight, which are the three key ingredients for photosynthesis and the seaweed grows abundantly."

Mr Elsom said SeaForest conducts independent surveys of the sites and facilities to make sure the marine biodiversity is not being disturbed.

Mr Bennett said the idea behind putting an eco-friendly milk on the market is for consumer choice as much as it is for the environment.

"What this does is it gives consumers a choice. And for people that want to help reduce emissions, this is a much cheaper way than buying a Tesla," Mr Bennett said.

But it's not just the milk itself that is eco-friendly.

Mr Bennett said the entire packaging has been rethought to make it as environmentally friendly as possible.

The packaging - from the bottle to the lid colour to the labels and glue used - will be "completely recyclable".

For the first three months, Ashgrove's Eco-Milk has been matched with their "current retail price of our full cream... just so people can try it and see that it's as great tasting as their normal product," Mr Bennett said.

"There is a price premium to this because SeaForest needs to be able to pay for their efforts down at Triabunna and the many Tasmanians they're employing down there," he said.

Mr Bennett said the two litre milk will retail at $5.50, compared to their full cream milk at $5.25.

"We're just so proud to have a partnership with a company like Ashgrove, a proud Tasmanian Business and for two Tasmanian businesses to be producing a world first," Mr Elsom said.

Ashgrove's Eco-Milk will be available in Woolworths and IGA stores across Tasmania.