RUMINATE

The project at a glance

RUMINATE brings together farmers, breeders, advisors, researchers, and other stakeholders across the primary sector to co-create practical, science-based solutions for reducing methane emissions and improving resilience to heat stress.

By integrating genetic information, nutritional interventions, farm management practices, and predictive modelling, the project will translate advanced research into practical farm-level solutions, including a Decision Support Tool (DST). These solutions will be applicable across different farming systems and regions, supporting both conventional and organic livestock farming across Europe and associated countries.

Programme Horizon Europe
Grant Agreement No. 101288911
Call HORIZON-CL6-2025-02
Topic HORIZON-CL6-2025-02-FARM2FORK-07
Type of Action Research and Innovation Action (RIA)
Starting date 1 June 2026
Duration 48 Months

Partners

Countries

Future Farming
Design Studios

Why RUMINATE Matters

Livestock farming faces a dual climate challenge: reducing its contribution to climate change while becoming more resilient to its impacts. RUMINATE addresses both dimensions of this challenge, focusing on reducing methane emissions from cattle and enhancing heat-stress resilience in sheep.

Two Climate Challenges

Reducing Methane Emissions

Methane emissions from livestock remain a major climate challenge. Existing policies and measures often rely on voluntary action or fragmented approaches, while projected reductions remain well below the ambitions set by European and international climate commitments.

Building Resilience to Heat Stress

Rising temperatures and increasing heat stress pose a growing challenge to livestock health, welfare, and productivity. Current adaptation approaches largely focus on management practices, infrastructure, and facility improvements, while the potential contribution of genetics remains underexplored.

Two Gaps to Bridge

Bringing Genetics into Climate Mitigation and Adaptation

Genetics can contribute to both reducing emissions and strengthening climate resilience. Through the identification of genetic markers associated with lower methane emissions in cattle and enhanced heat-stress resilience in sheep, animals can be selected and prioritized as part of climate-smart livestock strategies, while maintaining their performance and avoiding trade-offs with other key production and welfare traits.

Connecting Research with Farming Practice

Scientific advances need to translate into solutions viable in real-world farming settings. RUMINATE therefore bridges the gap between research and practical, on-farm application, by working closely with farmers and other stakeholders to co-create solutions adaptable to local conditions

Objectives

RUMINATE has four key objectives for advancing livestock farming sustainability by developing genomic-driven, accessible tools and supporting their widespread adoption.

Investigate Genotype × Environment Dynamics

Investigate the complex genotype × environment (G×E) associations that influence livestock performance and resilience, through genetic and phenotypic characterisation and gut microbiome profiling. RUMINATE will identify genetic markers to support the selection of animals with reduced methane emissions and enhanced heat-stress resilience, while maintaining productivity, animal welfare, biodiversity, and economic viability.

Develop Accessible and
Cost-Effective Solutions

Develop practical, accessible, and cost-effective solutions for farmers, including nutritional protocols, genetic marker panels, predictive models, and a Decision Support Tool (DST) to reduce methane emissions from cattle and enhance heat resilience in sheep across different production systems.

Develop Guidelines and
Policy Recommendations

Develop research-informed guidelines, protocols for best management practices, and evidence-based policy recommendations for low-emission and climate-resilient livestock systems. These guidelines will address breeding and feeding strategies, taking into account environmental performance, economic viability, and animal welfare, while the recommended policies will support the broad adoption of the developed solutions.

Establish Future Farming
Design Studios

Establish Future Farming Design Studios (FFDSs) as central hubs for innovation, demonstration, and knowledge exchange. Through co-creation and real-world demonstration, the FFDSs will connect all relevant stakeholders and demonstrate the feasibility, effectiveness, and scalability of developed solutions. Additionally, through regional and international cooperation the FFDSs will align efforts to accelerate the transition towards climate-neutral and climate-resilient livestock systems.

Our approach

RUMINATE’s methodological framework is structured around seven interconnected phases, moving from co-creation and knowledge consolidation to solution development, real-world demonstration, and long-term uptake.

Phase 1

Establishment of Future Farming Design Studios (FFDSs)

Establish six Future Farming Design Studios (FFDSs) in Belgium, the United Kingdom, France, Greece, Türkiye, and Romania, bringing together farmers, breeders, researchers, and advisors to assess the current landscape in livestock farming, co-create knowledge, and test and refine practical solutions. The FFDSs cover different species, breeds, production systems, and environmental conditions, addressing methane emissions in dairy cattle and heat-stress resilience in dairy sheep.

Phase 1

Phase 2

Knowledge & Data Consolidation

Bring together existing knowledge, datasets, and digital resources related to livestock genetics, methane emissions, heat stress, nutrition, and farm management. These resources will be combined with data generated by RUMINATE to increase analyses robustness, identify knowledge gaps, and ensure that RUMINATE’s future solutions go beyond the state of the art, respond directly to farmers’ needs, and drive widespread adoption across the livestock sector.

Phase 2

Phase 3

Small-Scale Testing of Nutritional Solutions

Identify promising nutritional solutions and evaluate them through controlled feeding trials in cattle and sheep. Their effects on methane emissions and heat-stress resilience, respectively, will be assessed alongside animal performance, health, and welfare providing the evidence needed to assess their feasibility, effectiveness, and potential for on-farm adoption.

Phase 3

Phase 4

Genetics, Genomics & Bioinformatics for Climate-Resilient Livestock

Generate and combine genomic, phenotypic, environmental, and microbiome data to investigate how genetics, environment, and management interact. Genetic markers associated with low methane emissions and enhanced heat resilience will be identified and validated across different populations, while genomic prediction approaches will support the calculation of the animals’ breeding values with respect to climate-associated traits.

Phase 4

Phase 5

Development of RUMINATE Solutions

Transform the knowledge and evidence generated into four interconnected solutions: nutritional protocols, sequencing panels of genetic markers, predictive models, and a Decision Support Tool (DST). The predictive models will integrate genomic, nutritional, environmental, and management data to explore the long-term effects of different strategies, while the DST will bring this knowledge together to support practical decision-making at farm level.

Phase 5

Phase 6

Demonstration of Solutions in Real-World Settings

Test and validate RUMINATE solutions under real farming conditions across the six FFDSs: methane-mitigation strategies for dairy cattle in Belgium, the United Kingdom, and France, and heat-resilience enhancement strategies for dairy sheep in Greece, Türkiye, and Romania. Genetic screening, nutritional strategies, and the DST will be combined with monitoring of animal performance and environmental parameters (methane emissions and heat resilience) to assess their effectiveness, feasibility, and adaptability across different farming systems. Farmer demonstrations and feedback will help further refine the solutions.

Phase 6

Phase 7

Ensuring a Lasting Legacy

Support the uptake and continued use of RUMINATE results beyond the project through stakeholder engagement, knowledge sharing, and practical resources, as well as pathways for both commercial and non-commercial solutions. This includes exploitation and business planning, intellectual property management, policy engagement, and communication and dissemination activities.

Phase 7

Target Groups

Farmers & Breeders

Dairy and beef cattle farmers, sheep farmers, commercial, conservation, and research breeders, conventional and organic livestock farmers, other ruminant farmers.
Farmers and breeders will participate in the FFDSs to jointly design, test, and validate the solutions. Networks, capacity-building materials, and a portfolio of solutions tested in real-world settings will be provided to enhance knowledge and understanding of genetics and climate-resilient practices in livestock farming.

Advisors

Veterinarians, nutritionists, genetics advisors, and farm, business, and climate advisors.
Advisors will help bridge the gap between research and practice, translating scientific results into actionable guidance for farmers and breeders. Data and tools developed in real-world settings will support decision-making and strengthen capabilities to address climate challenges in ruminant farming.

Researchers & Scientists

Researchers, geneticists, veterinarians, academics, educators, animal scientists, and environmental scientists.
Researchers and scientists will contribute to the development, validation, and refinement of climate-smart tools, indexes, and protocols/guidelines. RUMINATE will generate datasets, nutritional protocols, genetic markers, prediction models, and sequencing panels for cattle and sheep.

Industry Actors

Feed, dairy, meat, wool, and leather industries, farm technology providers, farming machinery industries, and farming software businesses.
Industry actors will contribute to the development, scaling, and commercialisation of the developed market-aligned solutions. Nutritional protocols, genetic marker panels and business models will support the integration of climate-resilient feeding solutions into product portfolios and provide commercial solutions for application of targeted breeding schemes tailored to various production systems and goals.

Policy Actors

Policy makers, local, regional, and national public authorities, intergovernmental agencies, international organisations, and decision makers.
Policy actors will support the integration of climate-resilient solutions into national, EU, and international strategies, funding mechanisms, and regulatory frameworks. RUMINATE will provide evidence-based recommendations, supported by the DST and assessment reports.

Public

NGOs, consumer associations, activists, civil society, and the general public.
Campaigns and multimedia will simplify scientific knowledge and increase understanding and acceptance of genetics and nutrition and their impact on livestock farming, providing accessible and engaging information for wider audiences.