Queen’s leads €4.8 million project to transform sustainable livestock farming

Queen's leads €4.8 million project to transform sustainable livestock farming

Queen's University Belfast is part of a new €4.8 million project funded by the European Union that will advance sustainable ruminant agriculture through microbiome science.

Rumen-Innovate is due to launch in March 2027 and will bring together 11 institutions and 19 industry and research partners across Europe to train the next generation of ruminant microbiome scientists.

Ruminant microbiome scientists study the complex communities of bacteria, archaea, protozoa, and fungi living inside the digestive tracts of animals like cows and sheep. 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 CO₂ in the short term. This project will develop practical tools that work at the level of the trillions of microbes living inside these animals, with the goal of reducing those emissions directly on the farm.

The Queen's team will be led by Professor Chris Creevey alongside Professor Sharon Huws, and Dr. Katerina Theodoridou from the School of Biological Sciences and Institute for Global Food Security.

Professor Chris Creevey is the coordinator of the project, he said:

"Rumen-Innovate represents an exciting opportunity to directly translate research into action, addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing ruminant agriculture.

"By combining computational and experimental approaches and maintaining a direct line from fundamental discovery to on-farm application, we aim to position Europe at the forefront of ruminant microbiome science and deliver innovations that make a real difference to farmers, to animals, and to the environment."

Understanding how those microbes influence how animals digest food and stay healthy also helps farmers produce meat and dairy more efficiently, consequently promoting less waste, lower costs, and a smaller environmental footprint.

The network is funded under the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme (Grant Agreement ID: 101311612). Full project details are available on the EU CORDIS database: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101311612

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