Clean Grow Lick Block – 2024 Michael Bryce Patron’s Award

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THIS AWARD IS PRESENTED ANNUALLY BY THE PATRON OF GOOD DESIGN AUSTRALIA. IT RECOGNISES AND CELEBRATES THE BEST AUSTRALIAN-DESIGNED PRODUCT, SERVICE OR PROJECT IN THE ANNUAL AUSTRALIAN GOOD DESIGN AWARDS WITH THE POTENTIAL TO SHAPE THE FUTURE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF OUR PLANET.

Clean Grow Lick Block marks a significant advancement in sustainable farming in Australia. Designed for livestock, these lick blocks offer both nutritional benefits and a positive environmental impact. This product helps even the most remote cattle stations to reduce methane emissions while nourishing their animals.

Animals like cattle produce large amounts of methane, which then traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere. Due to our reliance on livestock farming for products like beef, wool and dairy, reducing these emissions is a significant challenge. Clean Grow, Winner of the 2024 Michael Bryce Patron’s Award, presents a new way to help curb these emissions.

Designed by Sea Forest and Olsson’s, Clean Grow is a lick block that reduces methane emissions in grazing livestock. The project modifies Olsson’s 16% High-Sulphur Lick Block by incorporating SeaFeed™. The key ingredient? A native seaweed called Asparagopsis. When Asparagopsis is fed to livestock, it has shown to reduce their methane emissions by up to 98%. 

Sea Forest is the first company in the world to commercialise the cultivation of Asparagopsis. They saw an opportunity for farmers to combat climate change in their own backyard. From production to end use, the lick block decarbonises the livestock supply chain while offering a seamless user-experience. Farmers can simply place Clean Grow lick blocks throughout their paddock and achieve a 30% to 70% reduction in their livestock’s methane emissions. 

We dove into the innovation behind Clean Grow alongside Sea Forest team members Dr Louise Edwards, Head of Product Development and Regulatory Affairs, and Professor Rocky de Nys, Chief Scientific Officer. 

[Sea Forest CEO, Sam Elsom, with Clean Grow Image: Clean Grow]


GDA: If Clean Grow was fed to all grazing cattle in Australia, the 30% reduction in emissions would be like removing over 1.5 million cars off the road for a year. What does Sea Forest need to achieve this?

Dr Louise Edwards: We need farmers to get onboard. We’re very lucky to have developed the Clean Grow lick block in partnership with Olsson’s Industries, because it means we have an established route to market and wide distribution. We’re currently working with early adopters across the country before our official product launch [which is] coming soon. 

As you’ve pointed out, this solution holds so much potential to have a significant impact on reducing emissions. By simply placing Clean Grow lick blocks in the paddock, farmers will be providing a nutritional benefit to their animals, while making a positive contribution to climate by reducing methane emissions. It’s a win-win for livestock, the farmer and the planet. 

GDA: How does the life cycle of Clean Grow reduce waste?

Dr Louise Edwards: The blocks are packed in edible cardboard which the cattle and sheep consume. It’s completely safe to eat because even the ink is edible. Obviously, the lick block is 100 percent consumable too, so there’s zero waste. Alternatively, producers can request for package-free blocks, so there’s even less impact. 

[Clean Grow – Winner of the 2024 Michael Bryce Patron’s Award]


GDA: How does the design of Clean Grow consider the user experience of both the livestock and the people working directly with them?

Professor Rocky de Nys: The lick blocks are designed with the livestock and the farmer front of mind. It’s been formulated to provide the optimal nutrient and ingredient balance to meet the needs of livestock it’s being fed to. This is on top of the addition of the methane inhibiting feed ingredient, SeaFeed. 

It’s also designed to fit into existing farm operations, where they already use lick blocks, so no practice change is required to adopt the new technology to abate methane. The blocks are available in different sizes to provide solutions, whether that’s a hobby farmer with a small number of animals or an extensive grazing operation feeding thousands of heads. 

[Sea Forest Chief Scientific Officer and Lead Scientist of Clean Grow’s design team, Professor Rocky de Nys Image: Clean Grow]


GDA: Can you tell us about the testing process behind Clean Grow? 

Professor Rocky de Nys: Sea Forest and Olsson’s Industries were grateful recipients of Stage 2 of the Australian Government’s $29 million Methane Emissions Reduction in Livestock (MERiL) program. This program supports research and development of methane-reducing livestock feed supplements. 

The funding enabled an extensive product development process from lab to pilot to commercial scale and met defined product specifications. All this needed to be completed before any lick blocks could be fed to livestock. Following the testing, blocks have been safely and effectively provided to stock as a world-first product to reduce methane emissions in grazing livestock. 

GDA: What were the biggest challenges when it came to the delivery method and ensuring consistent intake? 

Dr Louise Edwards: The hardest part was scaling up. What happens in the laboratory doesn’t necessarily happen the same way at pilot scale or indeed commercial scale. The unique partnership between Sea Forest and Olsson’s provided the development of a practical delivery method, the block, with consistent intake, thanks to a certain mix of ingredients. 

[Sea Forest Head of Product Development and Regulatory Affairs, Dr Louise Edwards testing Clean Grow Image: Clean Grow]


GDA: More consumers want to see eco-friendly products on the shelves. How does Clean Grow address this need? 

Dr Louise Edwards: Clean Grow provides an accessible and easy to use product for the hobby farmer wanting to do their bit, all the way up to large commercial graziers. The solution’s applicable to most farm management systems and reduces the production of methane in grazing animals that represent the vast majority of animal production. This innovation provides the technological solution to decarbonise agriculture and deliver low-carbon, eco-friendly agricultural products onto the shelves.  

GDA: How did you approach integrating SeaFeed with Olsson’s existing high-sulphur lick block?

Dr Louise Edwards: Obviously, we can’t give all our secrets away, but we spent a lot of time in the beginning understanding the High-Sulphur Lick Block product and the contribution of the individual ingredients. We needed to understand how SeaFeed would work with these ingredients and if needed, make changes to ensure they were complimentary. 

GDA: How did the research and design team work together during the process of bringing Clean Grow to life?

Dr Louise Edwards: We worked extremely closely. It was definitely a team effort. Everyone’s input was critical in ensuring the best outcome and we’re stoked to be recognised with a Good Design Award. It’s testament to the hard work and contributions that everyone made.  

GDA: What role does initiatives like the Good Design Awards play in encouraging environmentally responsible design? 

Dr Louise Edwards: With the Good Design Awards shining a light on environmentally responsible design it creates awareness which has a halo effect. You can’t see the projects the Good Design Awards showcase and not want to try and do things better.    

[Clean Grow – Winner of the 2024 Michael Bryce Patron’s Award Image: Clean Grow]


Clean Grow achieves an easily-implemented solution to reducing methane emissions. Years of perfecting the design of the lick block and its lifecycle have resulted in a truly world-first product. Congratulations to Sea Forest and Olsson’s on this remarkable project – we’re looking forward to seeing Clean Grow in paddocks across the globe.

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