Sam Elsom, a farmer cultivating seaweed as a way to help dramatically reduce greenhouse gases produced by livestock, has been named Tasmania’s Australian of the Year.
The announcement was made by Tasmania’s Deputy Premier, Guy Barnett. Mr Elsom will be a finalist at the 2025 Australian of the Year Awards to be announced in Canberra on 25 January next year.
Guy Barnett said:
“We love to see Tasmanians who exhibit the quiet pursuit of the extraordinary and put our great State on the map. Sam has commercialised a new way to reduce methane emissions. Methane is a significant contributor to global warming because it’s 28 times more harmful than carbon dioxide.”
Sam Elsom said:
“It is an honour to receive this recognition. I hope to use the platform to advocate for climate action and drive positive outcomes for the environment, agriculture and farmers.”
Founded by Sam Elsom in 2018, Sea Forest is the first company in the world to develop and manufacture a feed supplement based on the native red Australian seaweed, Asparagopsis. It also became the first company in the world to farm Asparagopsis in commercial quantities.
Peer-reviewed studies have shown that adding a teaspoon per day of Sea Forest’s proprietary supplement, SeaFeed, to an animal’s regular diet can reduce the amount of methane each animal produces by up to 90%. The same studies show the resulting beef and milk are safe to consume and have the same taste and texture as regular products.
Feed additives with methane-inhibiting properties have the potential to reduce emissions and assist the Australian red meat industry meet its target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
Agriculture is responsible for over half of the nation’s methane, the largest share of any sector of our economy. And the majority of the methane produced by the agriculture industry comes from cattle burping the gas as they digest their food.
About Sea Forest
Situated on an 1800 hectare marine lease at Triabunna on the southeast coast of Tasmania, Sea Forest is a science-based environmental technology company harnessing the power of seaweed and associated bioactives to develop easy to use, cost-effective solutions to abate livestock methane emissions.
The company is collaborating with a diverse range of consumer brands aiming to cut methane emissions, including Ashgrove Milk, burger chain Grill’d and clothing brand MJ Bale.
Sea Forest’s work is also receiving global recognition. It was named as a finalist for the $1.9M Earthshot Prize set up by Prince William and Sir David Attenborough. The company is working with farmers in Africa to decarbonise their livestock. And it is aiding UK supermarket chain Morrisons in its drive to achieve net zero agriculture emissions from its directly supplied farms by 2030.
Sea Forest is a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact on sustainability. Through the non-profit Sea Forest Foundation, we work with the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania to restore Tasmania’s endangered native giant kelp forests. Further information at www.seaforest.com.au
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