Inc. Magazine
Cow burps may seem harmless but they release methane that heats the planet far more than CO2. A startup in North Carolina has created an enzyme-based feed additive that can cut these emissions by over 80 percent while boosting milk and meat yields, aiming to make cattle farming cleaner and more efficient.
Author: Josh Sukoff
Cow burps might sound udderly harmless until you realize they pump out 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. These methane-filled burps warm the planet 84 times more than the same amount of CO2 on a 20-year timescale. With billions of cows worldwide, all that belching adds up quickly. That’s why one North Carolina startup is on the moo-ve to reduce those gassy emissions. And their solution is gutsy.
Backed by a fresh $15-million Series A led by SOSV, Raleigh-based Hoofprint Biome has developed an enzyme-based feed additive that tackles methane emissions at the source: the cow’s stomach.
Specifically, Hoofprint’s product makes adjustments in the rumen, a cow’s first and largest stomach compartment, which acts as a fermentation vat for breaking down fibrous plants. When delivered as a daily supplement, the product could reduce cows’ methane emissions by over 80 percent. The feed also improves cows’ ability to absorb nutrients, increasing milk and meat yields by about 5 percent. More meat, less heat.
“Our enzymes are designed to prevent the release of methane in the rumen,” said Kathryn Polkoff, co-founder and CEO of Hoofprint Biome, in a press release. “But that’s only the beginning. By using these enzymes to reshape the rumen microbiome, we can redirect energy flows for better feed efficiency—more milk in dairy cows, more weight gain in beef.”
That two-pronged benefit of cutting emissions while improving productivity could give Hoofprint a significant market edge. It’s not just a climate tool, it’s also a business model for better livestock economics.
The company is also developing a probiotic version of the product that can reduce dosing frequency from daily to weekly or monthly, which is a big deal for pasture-raised cows that don’t show up for breakfast on command.
“By developing enzyme and probiotic solutions to cut emissions and boost yields, Hoofprint is enabling a new era of efficient, climate-smart cattle farming,” Polkoff added.
The company, founded in 2023, pairs Polkoff’s expertise in veterinary biomedical science with co-founder and chief scientific officer Scott Collins’s background in chemical and biomolecular engineering. Together, they’re working to scale nature’s innovations. Collins explained that the company takes cues from evolutionary biology and layers on modern tools.
“Startups and researchers have screened every chemical and drug that’s ever been given to livestock over the last 100 years for what might reduce methane,” said investor Po Bronson, general partner at SOSV. “But what if they’ve been looking in the wrong place this whole time?”
His point is that the solution may not be synthetic at all, but rather in the cow’s own biology. “What if the answer is already present in the rumen, and it’s natural?” he said.
“Nature has spent millions of years evolving proteins as tools to regulate microbial growth,” Collins said. “Biotechnology and artificial intelligence have finally gotten to the point where we can actually turn nature’s tools into viable commercial products.”
Hoofprint’s enzymes are brewed using a low-cost, scalable fermentation process, similar to how industrial enzymes used in cheese or detergent are made. That makes them cheap and quick to produce at scale. The product integrates seamlessly into existing feeding systems—it’s simply added to the cow’s daily feed. And because it is a daily feed additive, recurring use will mean recurring revenue for Hoofprint.
The $15 million Series A round, led by SOSV with participation from Breakthrough Energy Fellows, Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, Alexandria Venture Investments, Good Growth Capital, Twynam, and Ponderosa Ventures, will fund large-scale animal trials in New Zealand starting next year. Pending regulatory approval, commercial rollout is expected to begin in 2027. Methane from livestock accounts for nearly half of New Zealand’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
The climate case is a strong one. “Beef and dairy cows constitute about 10 percent of annual global emissions,” Nick Ellis, principal at Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, says. “Reducing these emissions while raising healthier animals are top priorities for Amazon.”
If the company pulls it off, burps could become the next big frontier in high steaks climate-tech innovation.
No bull.
Credits: TCA, LLC.