After a lack of well-being among cows with new feed, the national association demands clarification.

By Berfin Erdem

More dairy cows are not thriving and give less milk. And in some cases, they collapse.

A controversial additive called Bovaer, which is to be mixed into cows’ feed, is suspected to be the cause of the problems. TV 2 has the story.

This is what several farmers say, writes Jyllands-Posten on Friday.

Since 1 October, farmers have started mixing the statutory additive in the cows’ feed.

The aim is to reduce cows’ emissions of the greenhouse gas methane, and Bovaer has previously been thoroughly tested for several years.

Still, something seems to have gone wrong in the rollout.

“We have so many people who call us and are unhappy about what is happening in their herds,” says Kjartan Poulsen, chairman of the National Association of Danish Dairy Producers, to TV 2.

The organization has now initiated an investigation into the case, he said.

Rated safe by the EU

The substance Bovaer is manufactured by the Dutch company DSM and was approved by the European Commission in 2022 for use in cattle feed.

The authorisation is based on studies by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), which concluded that Bovaer does not pose a risk to the health of dairy cows or breeding cows, consumer safety or the environment.

In several cases, farmers have tried to remove the substance from the cows’ feed and have experienced that the animals recovered, writes Jyllands-Posten. When they later tried to reintroduce the drug, the problems have returned.

Kjartan Poulsen finds it “strange” and asks farmers to report when cows are not thriving under suspicion of Bovaer.

– We have to acknowledge that there are also some who feed with it without problems, so we have to find out what is really happening, the chairman adds.

Read the full story TV 2 here.