> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Who Owns the Bolus? Follow the Capsule to the Money - URL: https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/who-owns-the-bolus-follow-the-capsule-to-the-money/ - Published: 2026-11-01T17:30:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-01T17:29:59.000Z - Description: The first methane tool for New Zealand cattle is made by a company owned partly by former bank chief executives, a former stock exchange boss, a carbon credit broker and the taxpayer, twice. Here's who owns the bolus, and who stands to be paid if it works. - Author: Luke Nicholas - Tags: Franken-Cow series, beef, Methane, ownership, regulation Part 1 ended with a capsule of synthetic bromoform, waiting for approval, headed for young beef cattle. Somebody makes that capsule. Somebody paid for it. And if it works, somebody gets paid back. It took two company registers, a stock exchange profile, a carbon broker's press release and one unhappy Facebook thread to work out who. It's the same question as [who owns your lunch](https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/who-owns-your-lunch/), one step further up the chain. ## Two companies, one capsule There are two businesses in this story, and they're easy to mix up. AgriZeroNZ is the fund. It raises money and invests it in companies building methane tools. Ruminant BioTech is one of those companies. It makes the bolus. AgriZeroNZ owns part of Ruminant BioTech. So the fund announcing the first tool for farmers also part-owns it. Here is the short version, from the Companies Register. > **AgriZeroNZ** (the fund) Crown 50% · Fonterra 26.2% · Silver Fern Farms 7.6% · banks, Ravensdown and smaller meat and dairy companies share the rest > > ↓ owns 7.2% of > > **Ruminant BioTech** (makes the bolus) Rosrain Investments 37.6% · a trustee company 19.6% · AgriZeroNZ 7.2% · Crown Terrace Investments 5.9% · NZ Green Investment Finance 5.5% · Marex 3.7% · Elanco 2.4% · others ## Who owns the fund AgriZeroNZ's legal name is Centre for Climate Action Joint Venture Limited. The Companies Register, as at 4 September 2026, shows the Crown holding half of it, through the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance. Fonterra holds 26.2%. Silver Fern Farms holds 7.6%. Ravensdown, four banks and a handful of smaller meat and dairy companies share the rest. On 5 October, AgriZeroNZ [announced](https://www.agrizero.nz/news/agrizeronz-secures-dollar117m-funding-boost-welcomes-alliance-and-farmlands?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) that Alliance and Farmlands had joined too. The Government matches private money dollar for dollar. The total raised is now $308 million. ## Why the banks are in it ANZ and ASB joined in 2024\. At the time, an AgriZeroNZ director said "global customers, trade partners and lenders are demanding more in emissions reduction," according to the [AgriZeroNZ release](https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2404/S00140.htm?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). Note the third group on that list. Lenders. On the day of the latest raise, BNZ [put in another $4.2 million](https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2610/S00034/bnz-invests-a-further-42-million-in-agrizeronz-to-help-accelerate-practical-solutions-to-reduce-agricultural-emissions.htm?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). It described itself as "one of New Zealand's largest lenders to the agri sector." So the banks sit on both sides. They lend to farmers. They want emissions down in the farms they lend to. And they own a share of the fund building the tools. ## The chair with two chairs AgriZeroNZ's chair is Rob Hewett, a South Otago sheep and beef farmer. He was [appointed in February 2025](https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU2502/S00137.htm?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz), while he was still chair of Silver Fern Farms, which he said he would leave that year. He said AgriZeroNZ's work mattered for "our collective future licence to operate among discerning global customers." He also chairs Farmlands, according to [Farmlands' own board page](https://www.farmlands.co.nz/about/our-people?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). Farmlands is the farmer-owned rural supplies co-op. It is one of the two companies that joined AgriZeroNZ on 5 October. That landed badly. ## The co-op that joined Farmlands is putting in [$1 million over three years](https://www.farmlands.co.nz/news-and-media/farmlands-investment-in-agrizeronz?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz), about $335,000 a year. It calls itself "the smallest investor within AgriZeroNZ," [Farmers Weekly reported](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/farmlands-pushes-back-on-agrizeronz-conflict-claims/?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). On 8 October, Farmlands pushed back against social media claims of a conflict of interest. It says Hewett declared his interest and stepped out of the discussions and the board vote. The remaining directors decided unanimously. Hewett told The Country radio show the correct process was followed. "Conflicts are a thing I deal with quite regularly," he said. Farmlands says the money is about access. It recently bought Donaghys and SealesWinslow, which it says strengthened its animal health and nutrition manufacturing. It says membership gives it an early look at new products, and that its factories could help get them to farmers. Its chief executive, Tanya Houghton, told [CountryWide](https://country-wide.co.nz/farmlands-ties-1-million-agrizeronz-stake-to-manufacturing-plans/?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) the co-op is in talks on four products that could be made at its New Zealand sites. One of them is biological. She said Farmlands will never require farmers to use them. "This doesn't mean our customers have to purchase these products, it simply broadens the choices available," the co-op said. Farmers Weekly posted the story on Facebook. Nearly every comment underneath it was critical. Several said a decision like this should have gone to a shareholder vote. One commenter, who said they were a Farmlands shareholder, wrote: "We want healthy livestock and unadulterated food." One said: "Hold firm Rob." It's an old argument in farmer co-ops: [what they were built for](https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/the-long-drift-part-1-what-they-were-built-for/), and who gets a say when that changes. ## Who owns the capsule Ruminant BioTech is registered in Auckland. The Companies Register, as at 1 October 2026, lists its biggest shareholder as Rosrain Investments, with 37.6%. BusinessDesk [reported](https://businessdesk.co.nz/article/primary-sector/ruminant-biotech-closes-17-million-series-a-raise?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) in November 2025 that Rosrain's shareholders include three well-known names from Australian and New Zealand business. Ian Narev, chief executive of Seek. Ralph Norris, former chief executive of Air New Zealand and the Commonwealth Bank. And Ross McEwan, former chief executive of National Australia Bank. A trustee company holds another 19.6%. Trustee companies hold shares on behalf of someone else, so the owners behind that stake aren't public. AgriZeroNZ holds 7.2%, through a limited partnership. It has put $5.8 million into the company, Farmers Weekly reported. ## The stock exchange boss Crown Terrace Investments holds 5.9%. Its director, according to the Companies Register, is Mark Weldon. Weldon is also a director of Ruminant BioTech. He ran NZX, New Zealand's stock exchange, from 2002 to 2012, according to his profile at [Treasury Wine Estates](https://www.tweglobal.com/about/board-of-directors/mark-weldon?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz), where he is also a director. The same profile says he has been on Ruminant BioTech's board since 2021. So two of the company's three directors are Weldon and McEwan. McEwan ran National Australia Bank from 2019 to April 2024, and now chairs the mining giant BHP, according to [BHP's board page](https://www.bhp.com/about/board-and-management/ross-mcewan?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). He joined Ruminant BioTech's board in June 2021. ## The bankers, and the banks Here is where it loops back. Commonwealth Bank owns ASB. National Australia Bank owns BNZ, according to [interest.co.nz](https://www.interest.co.nz/banking/110328/cba-asb?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). ASB and BNZ are both AgriZeroNZ shareholders. So two of the banks once run by Rosrain's shareholders have New Zealand arms inside the fund that invested alongside them. The dates matter. Norris retired from the Commonwealth Bank in 2011, according to the [bank's own announcement](https://www.commbank.com.au/docs/Recent%5FDevelopments%5Fas%5Fof%5FJuly%5F22%5F2011.pdf?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). McEwan left NAB in April 2024\. I found nothing showing either had a hand in their old banks' decisions to join AgriZeroNZ. It is a small world, and the money moves around inside it. ## The taxpayer, twice New Zealand Green Investment Finance holds 5.5% of Ruminant BioTech. It is a Government-owned company in the [Treasury's portfolio](https://www.treasury.govt.nz/information-and-services/commercial-portfolio-and-advice/commercial-portfolio/nz-green-investment-finance?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz), and the Government has directed it to wind down its investments. The Crown also owns half of AgriZeroNZ, which owns 7.2%. So taxpayers are in this company twice, and paid for some of its research as well. Beef Central [reports](https://www.beefcentral.com/news/methane-feed-additive-news-long-payout-product-launched-sea-forest-lists-on-asx/?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) the company has received $9.6 million in research grants from New Zealand Government agencies, plus $3.5 million from the Australian Government. It's not the Crown's only stake in what goes on at the farm. Through Pāmu, the Government also owns [New Zealand's biggest organic dairy farm](https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/the-government-owns-new-zealands-biggest-organic-dairy-farm-it-got-there-by-accident/). ## The carbon broker Marex holds 3.7%. It is a financial services firm listed on the Nasdaq, and it bought in in November 2025. When it did, Marex [said](https://www.marex.com/news/2025/11/marex-group-plc-announces-investment-in-ruminant-biotech?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz) the methane cuts "can be quantified and converted into carbon credits". It said it would act as exclusive broker and market maker for a number of the company's credits. Ruminant BioTech's chief executive, Tom Breen, said the deal set the company up for "a scalable business model that rewards on-farm emissions reductions through carbon markets." So the cow's missing burps become credits. And a broker owns a slice of the company making them. US animal health company Elanco holds 2.4%. That's all the register says about it. ## Who gets paid The November 2025 funding round valued Ruminant BioTech at $132 million, Beef Central reported at the time. The company held patents in Australia, New Zealand, the US and Europe. It was seeking approval in Canada, Brazil and the European Union. Its target is 100 million cattle by 2035. New Zealand has about 3.96 million beef cattle. The target is about the world. Breen told Beef Central the company was working on a distribution deal with "a large global partner". He also said he wants carbon markets to reward producers who use the bolus. Marex is lined up to broker some of those credits. The story is being pitched to investors, not only farmers. [Agriculture Investment Marketplace](https://investinag.com/2026/10/05/public-private-partnership-agrizeronz-raises-nz117m-bnz-commits-nz4-2m/?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz), a site written for farmland and agribusiness investors, covered AgriZeroNZ's latest raise. It gave AgriZeroNZ's goal as a 30% cut in emissions by 2030, and "near zero" by 2040. Public money carried a good part of the early, risky stage. If the bolus succeeds, most of the upside sits with private shareholders. Taxpayers get a slice back through the two Government stakes. Investors in companies like this usually get paid when the company is sold or listed on a stock exchange. Nothing I found says Ruminant BioTech plans either. But in the same week it raised money, a rival, Tasmania's Sea Forest, floated on the ASX at $2 a share. Within minutes it was trading at $3.06, Beef Central reported. ## It might not work None of it is guaranteed. Every new raise shrinks the earlier slices. Rosrain held 44% of Ruminant BioTech in mid-2025, [RNZ reported](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/technology/beef-farmers-likely-first-in-line-for-emissions-reducing-livestock-pill/?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). By October 2026 the register shows 37.6%. The race is crowded. Australian rival Number 8 Bio, which uses engineered yeast to make bromoform in fermentation tanks, is eyeing New Zealand, Beef Central reported. Western Australia's Rumin8 raised $17 million in 2023 from backers including Bill Gates and Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest. Seaweed-based CH4 Global has raised around $100 million. The bolus is still waiting for approval here. And AgriZeroNZ's chief executive, Wayne McNee, was blunt about the odds. "Not every technology we invest in will succeed, that's the reality of innovation," he told [Farmers Weekly](https://www.farmersweekly.co.nz/news/farmlands-pushes-back-on-agrizeronz-conflict-claims/?ref=organicfoodtogether.nz). Follow the shares and you find the Crown, Fonterra, four banks, two former bank chiefs, a former stock exchange boss and a carbon broker. You don't find the cow. --- **Next, in Part 3:** who decided New Zealand's cows needed this in the first place. It starts with a meat company's customers and ends a long way from any farm. --- **Before you go** If this was useful, you can [sign up free](https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/#/portal/signup) to get new posts by email. And if you'd like to support OFT, you can [become a subscriber](https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/#/portal/signup) or [leave a one-off tip](https://www.organicfoodtogether.nz/#/portal/support).