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You might be wondering why the cover of
this October 2015 edition of the Livestock
Research Group (LRG) newsletter features a
giraffe…
We are delighted to bring you the
groundbreaking results of the LRG’s flagship
‘Global Rumen Census’ project, published
recently in
Scientific Reports
. After two
years of truly global collaboration initiated
by the Rumen Microbial Genomics Network,
the project has found that the microbes that
cause methane emissions in ruminants are
highly similar across diverse animal species
and feeds around the world. This means
that new technologies that seek to reduce
methane emissions by influencing rumen
microbes should have global application –
a significant discovery that would not have
been possible without the Global Research
Alliance (GRA). Led by New Zealand, 140
scientists from 73 organisations around the
world contributed to this study with samples
collected from sheep, cattle, deer, goats and
even giraffes and buffalo.
The newsletter also brings you coverage of
the recent Council meeting. The Council is
the body that oversees the GRA’s activities
and partnerships. Every member country
has a seat and it meets annually to discuss
matters of strategic importance, including
receiving progress reports from the Research
Groups. As well as providing a summary of
the main discussions at this year’s Council
meeting, this newsletter also includes an
interview we gave on how the outcomes of
the Council meeting relate to the work of the
LRG.
We also provide an update on France’s ‘4 per
mille: soils for food security and climate’
initiative. This has been launched ahead of the
major UNFCCC climate change conference
‘COP21’ in Paris in late November this year
and there are some clear opportunities for
the GRA and LRG.
Finally, we update you on progress in the joint
LRG/FAO collaboration on global agricultural
mitigation potential, ‘Reducing enteric
methane for improving food security and
livelihoods’, with regional workshops held
recently in Ethiopia and Sri Lanka.
Enjoy this edition and, as always, our thanks
for your ongoing support for the LRG.
Harry and Martin
Next LRG meeting:
February 2016
The next meeting of the LRG will be
held in Melbourne, Australia, 19-20
February 2016, immediately following
the sixth international Greenhouse
Gas & Animal Agriculture (GGAA)
conference (14-18 February). Several
LRG research networks are planning
their internal meetings in the days
before the conference. Please book
this into your diary now - further
information will be included in the
December newsletter. Registration
details for the GGAA can be found
online:
www.ggaa2016.org .Update from the Co-Chairs