VM0041 is the Verra methodology that lets a livestock operation earn carbon credits by cutting the methane its cattle burp out. The method only works when a feed ingredient that suppresses methane in the rumen goes into the diet. If you raise beef or dairy cattle in Brazil and a developer has offered you a methane project, this guide covers what the method asks for and how to tell whether it fits your farm.
What VM0041 is
The full name is VM0041 Methodology for the Reduction of Enteric Methane Emissions from Ruminants through the Use of Feed Ingredients. Version 2.0 has been active since 21 December 2021, falls under sectoral scope 15 (livestock and manure management), and applies worldwide. Version 1.0 was developed by Mootral SA and covered only its own supplement. Version 2.0 opened the method to any feed ingredient approved for animal use with scientific evidence that it works.
The credits pay for one thing only: methane from enteric fermentation, the gas cattle release through the mouth and nostrils. Better pasture, faster finishing and higher productivity do not count under VM0041, even when they also lower emissions. Applicability condition 4 excludes them to prevent double claims and overestimation.
How a VM0041 project calculates credits
The arithmetic compares two numbers: what the herd would emit on its usual diet (the baseline) and what it emits with the ingredient (the project). The difference, converted to tonnes of CO2 equivalent, becomes the credits after emissions from manufacturing and transporting the ingredient are subtracted.
For the baseline, the methodology offers three options for each animal group:
- Option 1: direct methane measurement on the farm, using the technologies listed in Appendix 2 of the methodology. A control group that does not receive the ingredient can serve as the baseline.
- Option 2: an IPCC Tier 2 calculation based on gross energy intake, dry matter intake and the share of energy lost as methane (the Ym factor).
- Option 3: default emission factors, allowed only for species listed in Appendix 4 and only when the data for Option 2 are missing.
For the project scenario, the reduction factor can come from two places. One is a meta-analysis of at least three peer-reviewed studies published in journals indexed in the Science Citation Index Expanded. The other is direct measurement on the farm during the first monitoring period. The catch with the meta-analysis is that your conditions cannot stray far from the studies. If your animals, diet, dry matter intake or housing fall outside what the research covered and a correction is not possible, you must measure on site.
Leakage is set at zero. Manure is not ignored, though: you must show the ingredient does not raise manure emissions. If it does, those emissions enter the calculation.
Additionality under VM0041
Additionality means proving the reduction would not happen without the carbon revenue. VM0041 v2.0 uses an activity method with two steps. The first is regulatory surplus: no law or regulation already requires the practice. The second is a positive list. Under v2.0, meeting all the applicability conditions is what puts a project on that list.
In Brazil, regulatory surplus is unlikely to be the obstacle. Article 1, paragraph 2 of Lei 15.042/2024, which created the Brazilian Emissions Trading System (SBCE), states that primary agricultural production is not a regulated activity and has no obligations under the system. The same law, in articles 42 and 43, allows credits to be sold on the voluntary market and recognizes the original ownership of private landholders over credits generated on their land.
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That may change. Verra is running a revision (M0400) that produces a draft version 3.0. The draft went to public consultation from 8 October to 7 November 2025 and is now at independent expert review. Among other changes, it proposes a positive list by region, with a project-based test for regions not covered. This is a draft, not the rule in force. Check the Verra page before relying on it.
Who VM0041 fits and who it does not
The method assumes you can control what each animal eats and prove it. Applicability condition 5 requires traceability of the ingredient from the manufacturer to consumption on the farm. Condition 3 requires feeding at the dose per kilogram of dry matter intake set by the manufacturer.
That makes feedlots and confined or semi-confined dairy herds the natural fit, since the diet is mixed and recorded every day. Extensive grazing, which covers most of the Brazilian herd, is the hard case. If cattle spend the year on pasture with mineral salt in the trough, it is difficult to show how much ingredient each group actually ate.
Records matter as much as management. For farms already operating, condition 7 requires reliable data for each animal group: at least two years for baseline Option 1 and three years for Option 2. A farm without records can only use regional statistical averages, which tends to make the baseline less favourable.
The ingredient also needs approval from feed and food regulators in every jurisdiction where it is used. In Brazil, check that the product is registered for animal feed with the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA). The ingredient also needs published evidence that it does not harm animal health.
Step by step to a VM0041 project
- Inventory: list your animal groups (category, weight, production phase, feeding regime) and the data you already keep on intake and diet composition.
- Choose the ingredient: confirm Brazilian registration, the manufacturer’s feeding instructions and the studies behind the reduction factor.
- Check the fit with the studies: compare your diet and animal profile with the published research. If they differ much, budget for direct measurement.
- Bring in a developer: few farms have the scale to register alone. A developer usually groups several farms into one project.
- Validation: an accredited validation and verification body (VVB) checks the project design against the methodology.
- Monitoring: keep a record of head count, days in each group, ingredient purchased and ingredient fed, and the dose.
- Verification and issuance: each monitoring period is verified before Verra issues the credits.
Hypothetical example: a feedlot with three years of records on dry matter intake per pen can use Option 2 for the baseline. If its diet matches the conditions of the published studies, it can apply the meta-analysis reduction factor without installing measuring equipment. A grazing operation with no intake records would face regional averages and, possibly, on-site measurement.
Common mistakes
- Counting productivity gains: faster finishing or better pasture does not generate credits under VM0041.
- Assuming any herd qualifies: without dose control and traceability, the project fails condition 5.
- Ignoring manure: if the ingredient changes manure composition, those emissions must be calculated.
- Mixing up the markets: a Verra credit is a voluntary-market asset. It is not a CRVE, the SBCE certificate. The SBCE committee created a working group on CRVE methodologies through Resolução CTCP/SBCE nº 4 of 11 May 2026, and the ESG Minute SBCE scoreboard shows no accredited methodology yet.
- Signing a contract without knowing who owns the credits: article 43 of Lei 15.042 recognizes the landholder’s original ownership. Read what the developer’s share will be.
What to do now
Open your records and check whether you have two or three years of intake and diet data for each animal group. If you do not, start recording now, because that is the condition that most often blocks entry. Then ask the ingredient supplier for its MAPA registration and the studies behind its reduction factor, and compare them with your system. If you run a feedlot or confined dairy herd and both answers look good, it is time to talk to a developer. If your herd is mostly on extensive pasture, follow the M0400 revision on the Verra page before investing, since the draft changes how additionality and applicability are handled.
Sources
- Verra: VM0041 v2.0 methodology page
- Verra: VM0041 v2.0 full text (PDF)
- Verra: M0400 proposed revision to VM0041 (draft v3.0)
- Planalto: Lei nº 15.042/2024 (SBCE)
- DOU: Resolução CTCP/SBCE nº 4/2026
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