Fonterra is investigating a possible methane explosion at one of its dairy farms in China.
The New Zealand dairy cooperative has confirmed damage to a biodigester on a farm in Yutian, east of Beijing.
The possible explosion happened at Farm One, one of its five farms in Yutian county on Monday.
Fonterra's head of international farming Peter Moore says the damage has put its biodigester, which converts effluent from cows into biogas and solids, out of action.
Mr Moore says the cause is being investigated, but believes it may have been a mechanical failure rather than an explosion.
Other methods are being used to treat and dispose of the farm effluent in a sustainable way until the biodigester is running again, he says.
