1. SusCatt Increasing productivity, resource efficiency and product quality to increase the economic competitiveness of forage and grazing based cattle production systems
Håvard Steinshamn

2. Project description  
SusCatt aims to evaluate a transition to high forage and pasture diets for European cattle on:
Productivity, product quality, animal health and welfare, and economic performance
Resource use efficiency and environmental impacts, both assessed experimentally, by modelling and life cycle analysis
Consumers’ appreciation

3. Preliminary results Too soon for many results but suggestion that:
Herb inclusion in grazing pastures tends to reduce enteric methane from dairy cows
Dairybeef crossbreed steers produced heavier carcasses, more suited to the market, than pure dairy steers on forage/pasture

4. animal health and welfare resource-use efficiency
Contribution to SusAn research objectives : Which is the contribution of your research to SusAn objectives  
The main hypotheses in SusCatt are that transition to high forage and non-food diets will enhance:
product quality
animal health and welfare
resource-use efficiency
consumer acceptability

5. Contribution to SusAn research objectives : Which is the contribution of your research to SusAn objectives  
SusAn: Consider opportunities for converting non- edible feedstuffs into valuable human edible protein sources and other animal products
SusCatt
reducing reliance on human edible food
increasing reliance of forage crops
recycling wastes and by-products from food, drink and energy industries as animal feeds

6. Susan: minimise emissions to soils and water and to the atmosphere
Contribution to SusAn research objectives : Which is the contribution of your research to SusAn objectives  
Susan: minimise emissions to soils and water and to the atmosphere
SusCatt
maximising output by greater integration of beef and dairy production
exploiting legumes to reduce the environmental impact and enhancing the nutritive value of forage (and other) crops
avoiding feeds with a high carbon foot print, due to land use change or transportation

7. Contribution to SusAn research objectives : Which is the contribution of your research to SusAn objectives  
Susan: produce animal products which are of high quality and represent good value for money for consumers and the processing industry
SusCatt
producing milk and beef to enhance rather than challenge our health

8. Economy Environment Society
Research Impact on the 3 pillars of sustainability: Does the project adequately address the different pillars? How do the different pillars contribute to the aim of your project?  
Economy
We calculate the profitability of the cattle systems we study and compare with benchmark for the region
Environment
We run LCA the cattle systems we study and compare with benchmark for region
Society
Assess the nutritional quality of milk and meat from our alternative production systems and identify consumers knowledge and acceptance

9. Research Impact on the 3 pillars of sustainability: How relevant are the links made between the pillars?  
Economic and environmental assessments are integrated in some our surveys

10. Exchange of knowledge and competence
Transnational collaboration: What is the added value of transnational collaboration?  
Similar challenges, but different solutions appropriate for our 6 countries
Exchange of knowledge and competence
Analysis of samples (meat and milk) in the same laboratory
Data from all partners pooled for economic and environmental assessment in a common approach

11. Transnational collaboration: Is the transnational collaboration beneficial for broad implementation of the results?  
Dissemination
Challenges tend to be system based rather than specific to each country – solution from some partners are highly relevant to farms in other countries (e.g. solutions relating to Italian intensive dairying are appropriate throughout Europe )

12. Messages targeting consumers and policy makers, as well as producers
Multi actor approach: Is there a strategy to involve relevant stakeholders?  
Data collection in the participatory research and surveys are done in co-operation with farmers and farmers association
Dissemination – Workshops and survey for identifying methods for wider dissemination
Messages targeting consumers and policy makers, as well as producers

13. Work is likely to extended to include cheese making in UK
Multi actor approach: Are research outcomes validated under practical conditions along the whole value added chain?  
Some of our outcomes are based on farm practices and in some cases, producers are milk or meat selling directly to consumers
Work is likely to extended to include cheese making in UK

14. Focus is on animal and farm level
Cross-scale approach: In how far does it make sense in the particular research project to target the different levels? How relevant are the interactions seen between the levels?  
Focus is on animal and farm level
Modelling and analysis on regional and national level in the our system analysis work package
Careful with extrapolation

15. Dissemination and communication strategy: Is there strategy for exploiting the potential of the projects results?  
Stakeholder surveys

16. We aim to target dissemination to multiple audiences
Dissemination and communication strategy: Do you disseminate the projects results via Open Data?  
We aim to target dissemination to multiple audiences
Academic papers and conference presentations
Technical notes aimed at the farming industry
Policy and practice notes
Consumer information relating to food quality and health
All will be open access and actively distributed to appropriate recipients