Global human population forecasts of 10 billion by 2050 will raise food demand by 70% against a requirement for lower environmental impacts. England's livestock agriculture is tasked with increasing efficiency of production while reducing environmental impacts. Thus, GHG emissions must contract by 78% (2035), with a livestock industry seeking net- zero (2050) against a background of escalating energy/input costs. Ruminants only capture around 25% of nitrogen ingested from grasslands and create 45% of UK methane emissions through rumen digestion, manure and slurry. To reduce GHG/nutrient loading, more herbage protein must convert into meat and milk. **NUE-Leg** will directly address this challenge by developing technological solutions to reduce environmental impacts while enhancing the economics and sustainability of grassland farming. UK ruminant production relies predominately on nitrogen fertiliser-driven perennial ryegrass, sometimes with white clover. Increased energy and nitrogen costs highlight the value of forage legume N-fixation which, with enhanced production efficiency and consistency, could lower a ruminant's environmental impact. The industry is over reliant on applied N, largely ignoring the production benefits of proper soil nutrient balances and the specific micronutrient requirements for legume-rhizobium symbiosis. Transformation of the UK ruminant sector to systems that beneficially exploit forage legumes requires a paradigm shift in forage legume breeding and management to enhance key genetic traits tailored to exploit precision crop management strategies that together deliver higher more consistent sward productivity. A novel alliance between legume breeders, soil scientists, NGO/charity and industry across supply chains will provide farmers with the tools and resources to exploit these legume/nutrient benefits for productivity, farm economics and environmental improvement. Academic and industry partners will work with livestock farmers using participatory research to quantify the on-farm impact of innovative varieties of three forage legume species, supported by elite rhizobia strains and state-of-the-art prescription nutrient fertilisers for optimal N-fixation. The benefits for livestock production will be evaluated and mitigation potential for environmental protection analysed using life-cycle-assessment. On-farm trials conducted by supply chain partners/LEAF will test and develop technology in practice and widely demonstrate the achievable benefits to grassland farmers across the beef, sheep and dairy sectors. **NUE-Leg** will deliver blueprints for exploiting novel, elite legume varieties and identify traits for continued breeding improvement, determine farm-specific prescription nutrient need and provide digital KE systems to guide farmers. This integrated optimisation approach will greatly enhance grassland farming in mitigating enteric methane emissions, lowering nitrate losses, while boosting ruminant productivity and sustainable farm businesses.

This project will develop new methods to reclaim waste energy from different forms of refrigeration plants, and in parallel, use this energy to also assist in conditioning waste water to potable standard water. In both cases waste heat will be recycled to be used again in other localised manufacturing processes and water will be re-cycled . This will reduce costs in the food processing sector (including perishables). It will do this by reducing energy and water use costs as well as reducing the environmental footprint of the commodities produced. These novel technologies will have application in various processes in a diverse range of UK and international industries

This project is a collaboration between Harper Adams University and three progressive British enterprises: sensor manufacturer IceRobotics, dairy consultancy Kingshay, and dairy company Dairy Crest. It will develop a comprehensive sensor-based engineering solution that enables dairy farmers to improve the health and welfare of their cows through timely and reliable alerting of health issues concerning individual animals, enabling them to take swift action to address animal health problems before they become more serious. The system will be designed to integrate as far as possible with existing farm systems and equipment, and will be fully accessible via mobile devices and over the internet. As well as system development, the project will involve field testing on research farms, economic validation on commercial herds, and various communication forums and events for the dairy farming community.

The need for traceable, sustainable home grown protein sources for livestock is increasing, particularly given recent price increases for feed and fertiliser. As such, ruminant farmers in the UK are under increasing pressure to maximise use of grassland-based systems to feed livestock. Forage proteins such as red clover and lucerne have been proven to improve feed intake, feed conversion efficiency and increase productivity among ruminants. This project aims to increase the uptake of least-cost, low-carbon forage proteins on UK livestock farms. Beef, lamb and dairy producers will work with researchers, a seed producer, processors and a retailer. Alternative forages and innovative techniques will be trialled through controlled scientific evaluations and on-farm research to determine successful forage strategies. The economic and environmental effects of the different strategies will also be assessed. Participating farmers are drawing on their own experiences to inform the selection of techniques and will run projects on their own farms. This participatory approach will help address some of the practical challenges and constraints experienced in the sector to date.