LegumePlus: Project meeting in Switzerland
We’ve been delighted to have been part of the four year LegumePlus research project, led by Prof. Irene Mueller-Harvey of Reading University, which is now coming to an end. It’s key objectives have been to investigate how bioactive forage legumes, in particular sainfoin and birdsfoot trefoil, can improve protein utilisation in ruminant livestock farming and combat parasitic nematodes.
The LegumePlus participants recently met at the Institute for Livestock Sciences in Posieux, Switzerland for the penultimate project meeting, before the final dissemination event at NIAB, Cambridge, scheduled to take place on 20th - 21st of October this year.
The researchers took part in a five day course in animal nutrition led by Guiseppe Bee and Frigga Dohme-Meier, at the Posieux ILS research station where they have been studying how sainfoin and other legumes affect animal nutrition and the quality of dairy and meat products produced. As part of the course the researchers were able to study pigs, calves and chickens on an experimental farm, and also visit the Gruyere Cheese pilot plant.
We were also given keynote lectures by members of the Agroscope Institute for Food Sciences; Dr. Guy Vergere on The NutriChip project, and Dr. Eva Arrigoni on ‘Secondary Plant Metabolites in Human Nutrition’.
During the project meeting researchers presented their progress to each other and the supervisors, and work package leaders summarised the various papers they are expecting to publish as a result of their research.
The activities and results of the LegumePlus project will be communicated directly to farmers and scientists alike at the two day-long dissemination event later this year, with the first day focussing on farmers and agronomy, and the second on science for the academic community.
Date Posted: 26th May 2015
Knowledge
