James Wu
Mar 26
Twynam is thrilled to announce our investment in Hoofprint Biome. Founders Kathryn Polkhoff and Scott Collins engineer a probiotic that naturally prevents methane production in ruminants.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with 28x more warming potential than carbon dioxide.
As ruminants such as cattle and sheep eat, the food fermented in their stomach releases methane (usually as belches - or burps). Research estimates that cows belch on average 100kg CH4 per year.
With over 1.5 billion cattle worldwide, the enteric methane problem is immense, contributing to 11% - 17% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. This will only grow as meat consumption from ruminant animals is expected to increase by about 90% by 2050.
To add to this, the methane released represents a significant loss of energy for an animal, negatively impacting productivity. In fact, 6 - 10% of gross energy consumed by ruminants is lost to methanogens.
Twynam’s history in agriculture is deep and we have long been aware of the negative effects of ruminant methane. In the late 1990s, Twynam funded a research project with CSIRO to develop anti-methane vaccines and unfortunately that vaccine itself unfortunately wasn’t viable. But this instigated a 20 year global search for something that was.
Since then we’ve travelled the world, looking at seaweed, fermentation, other vaccines, and even hardware devices, but nothing to date has ever come close to what the team at Hoofprint have developed.
Hoofprint has discovered novel enzymes that naturally prevent methane production. They are developing a probiotic that releases these enzymes in the cow’s stomach to cut methane emissions and this microbiome improvement also benefits animal health and nutrition.
Hoofprint's solution is long-lasting, unaffected by growers supply chain and they have the unique ability to rapidly iterate. By using a probiotic yeast, Hoofprint can offer a product that is scalable, affordable, and increases farm profitability.
This is a significant technological breakthrough in decarbonising meat and dairy industries.
Hoofprint received funding earlier this year with AgriZeroNZ, a joint venture of major New Zealand agribusiness companies and the government.
We're excited to leverage our agricultural roots to support the team as we tackle this massive problem. The company’s innovative approach, defensible IP portfolio, and potential for scalability make it a standout in the sector.
We’re proud to be joining team Hoofprint for the next stages of their journey.
Questions? Get in touch at mail@twynam.com