Taking the steps toward sustainable livestock: our multidisciplinary global farm platform journey

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  • M. Jordana Rivero
    Rothamsted Research Centre
  • Alex Evans
    University College Dublin
  • Alexandre Berndt
    Embrapa Southeast Livestock
  • Andrew Cartmill
    University of Wisconsin–Platteville
  • Andrew Dowsey
    University of Bristol
  • Anne Farruggia
    Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE)
  • Catyherine Mignolet
    Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE)
  • Daniel Enriquez-Hidalgo
    Rothamsted Research Centre
  • Dave Chadwick
  • Davy McCracken
    Hill and Mountain Research Centre
  • Dennis Busch
    University of Wisconsin–Platteville
  • Fabiano Pereyra
    Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria, INIA
  • Graeme B. Martin
    University of Western Australia
  • Gregg R. Sanford
    University of Wisconsin–Platteville
  • Helen Sheridan
    University College Dublin
  • Iain Wright
    International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi
  • Laurent Brunet
    Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE)
  • Mark Eisler
    University of Bristol
  • Nicolas Lopez-Villalobos
    Massey University
  • Pablo Rovira
    Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria, INIA
  • Paul Harris
    Rothamsted Research Centre
  • Paul Murphy
    University College Dublin
  • Prysor Williams
  • Randall D. Jackson
    University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Rui Machado
    Embrapa Southeast Livestock
  • P.T. Suraj
    Livestock Research Station
  • Thomas Puech
    Institut national de recherche pour l’agriculture, l’alimentation et l’environnement (INRAE)
  • Tommy Boland
    University College Dublin
  • Walter Ayala
    Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria, INIA
  • Michael R.F. Lee
    Harper Adams University, Newport
Ruminant livestock are a vital global source of high-quality protein and bioavailable minerals and vitamins. They support healthy dietary choices by providing milk and meat produced from less productive land and food industry byproducts. However, despite the contribution of ruminants to food systems and the circular bioeconomy, ruminant production systems are increasingly questioned due to their environmental impact, particularly their significant contribution to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and associated global warming. There is a need, therefore, to identify a pathway to sustainable global ruminant production. In 2014, our group defined eight strategies or “steps” (Eisler et al., 2014), to mitigate the environmental impacts of ruminant production while optimizing the quantity and quality of the food they produce. To realize these goals, we established the “Global Farm Platform” initiative (www.globalfarmplatform.org), a network of “farm platforms” or research farms (RFs), to explore multidisciplinary strategies and evaluate different production systems around the globe (Table 1). Here, we provide a perspective on our approach and the steps we are taking to realize the ambition of supporting sustainable ruminant livestock production as a part of future food systems contributing to both human and planetary health.

Keywords

  • circularity, grazing systems, mixed farming, precision farming, research farms, ruminant livestock
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)52-58
Number of pages7
JournalAnimal Frontiers
Volume11
Issue number5
Early online date20 Oct 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2021

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