Anyone who has ever spent time in or near a cattle shed will have smelled that what goes in one end must come out the other, with livestock calculated to account for more than 10 per cent of global greenhouse emissions.
Now agricultural researchers at University of Galway?have joined a new, €4.8 million European Union research project advancing sustainable ruminant agriculture through microbiome science – essentially looking into how changing the make-up of bacteria in a cow’s belly can effect the gas it creates: its trump regime.
Ruminant microbiome scientists study the complex communities of bacteria, archaea, protozoa, and fungi living inside the digestive tracts of animals that regurgitate their food – chewing the cud. Their research focuses on improving animal health, boosting feed efficiency, and reducing agricultural methane emissions.?Cattle and sheep produce a significant amount of methane, a greenhouse gas that is far more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.
Rumen-Innovate?is a consortium including 11 universities and research?bodies,?as well as?farming?organisations?and industry across eight countries set-up to support the training and development of the?next generation of scientists specialising in the microbiomes of cows, sheep, goats and deer.
With?EU-funding?of?€4.8 million, this project’s focus is on?cleaner air, more sustainably produced food, and healthier animals.
Dr Sinead Waters, lecturer in the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences in University of Galway, said:?“Our participation in Rumen-Innovate provides University of Galway?and?our?Ryan Institute with the opportunity to contribute to novel, transformative research at the intersection of microbiome science, animal production, and climate action. Importantly, this collaboration will produce highly skilled researchers and technologies with real-world impact for the livestock sector.”
The project?is funded under?the?Marie?Sk?odowska-Curie Doctoral Network?as part of?Horizon Europe.?University?of Galway will host two doctoral students in ruminant microbiome science to advance the generation of greenhouse gas mitigation technologies to improve sustainable agriculture.
The network addresses critical global challenges facing the livestock sector: feeding a growing population sustainably, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from ruminant animals, and improving animal health and production efficiency.
