Willow as climate-protecting feed? Promising research!

Who would have thought that tree leaves could one day play a key role in the diet of cattle? German researchers have now come to a stunning result that could fundamentally change animal husbandry in the future. It has been found: if cows eat willow leaves, the amount of harmful gases in their urine is drastically reduced – by up to 80 percent. The solution is not a chemical additive, not biotechnology, but nature itself. Willow trees have been known for centuries as a natural pain and fever reliever – the compound salicin found in them is also the active ingredient in aspirin. However, it has now been discovered that salicin is not only beneficial to humans but also to cattle. Researchers from the Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology in Dummerstorf and several German and Austrian universities investigated what happens when willow leaves are mixed into the cattle's diet. The result is impressive: animals that consume the leaves produce 81 percent less nitrous oxide (N₂O) and ...