Registration is now open for the Climate Change and Livestock: What Next?’ Conference.
The Conference is organised by the Society of Chemical Industry’s (SCI) Agrisciences Group and the British Society of Animal Science, and takes place 2 December, London, United Kingdom.
This conference will start with an introduction to the impact of livestock on climate change and delegates will then be informed of the evidence-based solutions for mitigating environmental footprint of livestock production and adapting our livestock systems to the changing climate. This unique event will provide the attendees with all you need to know about the latest developments around climate change and future livestock production.
This will be a unique opportunity to learn about, and discuss with experts in the field, climate change and livestock production, whilst expanding your relevant network and developing new partnerships. This event is aimed at people of all career stages and will be of particular interest to the following:
- Stakeholders across the animal food production chain, including feed producers, farmers, consultants, animal nutritionists and breeders, forage breeders and agronomists, machinery and precision technology developers and suppliers.
- Stakeholders across the animal food processing chain, including wholesalers, processors, and retailers.
- Specialists in all areas of livestock production, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change and environmental modelling; as well as students and early-career researchers in these fields.
- Those who are seeking evidence-based information around livestock and climate change and eager to learn about realistic technical solutions for mitigation of livestock greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation of livestock to the changing climate.
- Consumers and those involved in policy-making, who are keen to make informed decisions at individual and national level, respectively.
To register please, please click here.
A great new opportunity for a livestock scientist has opened up with the Livestock Research Group (LRG) of the Global Research Alliance.
The LRG is looking for a South East Asian livestock scientist (or scientist with relevant experience in the region) to join a flagship Global Research Alliance (GRA) project focused on feed and nutrition measures to reduce livestock greenhouse gas emissions. This work is funded by the New Zealand Government in support of the GRA’s Livestock Research Group.
The project aims to:
(a) Expand animal and feed databases for mitigation of enteric methane developed by the GLOBAL NETWORK project to include new data representing production systems and environments from South East Asia, including systems relying on by-product feeds and forages and pastoral systems;
(b) Using these expanded databases, identify and recommend methane mitigation technologies that are practical and feasible for the livestock production systems in South East Asia and production systems;
(c) Develop specific methane yield (Ym) values suitable for local feeds in South East Asia and production systems, which will enable the use of these new Ym values to improve national greenhouse gas inventories; and
(d) Identify how nutritional measures can be captured in national greenhouse gas inventory methodologies to demonstrate mitigation in South East Asia.
The work will contribute regional data to a larger GRA project led by the Livestock Research Group’s Feed and Nutrition Network that aims to improve quantification of the effects of feed and nutrition on enteric methane emissions from cattle managed under a range of different production environments. The successful applicant will be expected to work closely with the leader of that larger project, with work completed by 30 June 2020.
Preference will be given to applicants (individuals or organisations) who are based in the South East Asian region. Suitably qualified applicants from outside the region are encouraged to apply, however must be able to demonstrate an ability to fulfil the expected deliverables, which will involve travel to the region.
Applications close on 29 May 2019.
More information about the role can be found in the Request for Proposals (RFP)and the Response Template.
For any questions, please contact Gavin Kenny ([email protected])
The GRA is working in Partnership with the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and other experts to identify cost-effective and technically sound measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems – and the guidance, tools, and platforms that support them.
At a side event during the 2018 Bonn Climate Change Conference, experts from Brazil, Guatemala, and Uruguay shared their experiences developing MRV systems for livestock NAMA projects at the local level and elaborated on how this information could inform NAMAs and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) going forward.
Four themes arose from presentations and discussion with the audience:
(1) Standardized approaches are needed at subnational/project and national MRV levels to enable the two systems to “talk” to each other.
(2) Protocols and technologies for information collection apps, data compilation and access via platforms were essential components of MRV systems and can help with aggregation, standardization, and quality control.
(3) MRV should build on national livestock information systems and seek to improve these to provide robust activity data.
(4) Capacity development at subnational levels should be a priority.
Read the report here in English, French and Spanish.
A position is currently open for a Principal Scientific Officer at the Agri-Food & Bio-Sciences Institute AFBI in Belfast, Ireland. The successful applicant will lead the ‘Sustainable Soil Management & Crop Nutrition’ research programme, which involves some focus on nutrient management and nutrient cycling within livestock-based production systems.
For a job description and to apply, please click here or visit www.nicsrecruitment.org.uk
The application deadline is Friday 23rd March 2018 (UK time).
New Zealand’s Livestock Emissions & Abatement Research Network (LEARN) is pleased to announce their new-look website. The Network, which co-funds annual PhD scholarships and Postdoctoral fellowships and funds quarterly Technical Training and GRASS awards, is sponsored by the New Zealand Government with the aim of building international capability in livestock emissions research.
Read about the current award recipients