EcoGen webinar on research in farm practice

On Monday 19 October 2026, from 12:00 to 13:00 CEST, the EcoGen research cluster holds an online webinar on how the results of EU-funded livestock research can be turned into practical applications, useful tools and lasting collaboration with farmers. Three speakers will cover engaging farmers in a multi-actor research project, applying genetic research in dairy sheep breeding, and EU-FarmBook, an open-access platform for finding practice-oriented knowledge from EU projects. It is the tenth episode of the EcoGen webinar series, and it takes place on Zoom, with registration online.

Webinar details

Title	Beyond EU livestock research: turning results into practice
Date	Monday 19 October 2026
Time	12:00 to 13:00 CEST (13:00 to 14:00 in Greece)
Format	Online, on Zoom
Registration	Register on Zoom
Organiser	EcoGen cluster, led by HoloRuminant

Three talks on bridging research and practice

Karen McGrath (Re-Livestock), postdoctoral researcher in agricultural extension and innovation at the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin, will share lessons from engaging farmers and stakeholders in a multi-actor project: how farmers were recruited, how annual stakeholder workshops worked, and what this means for designing collaborative research
Jean-Michel Astruc (SMARTER, ARDI2), expert in dairy sheep genetics and breeding at the French Livestock Institute, will present two examples of research applied in dairy sheep breeding: selection for resistance to parasites, and a genetic evaluation shared across the border between French and Spanish dairy sheep. Both depend on collaboration between research and field organisations
Haniyeh Najafi (EU-FarmBook), PhD researcher at Ghent University, will introduce EU-FarmBook, an open-access platform for finding and using practice-oriented knowledge from EU-funded projects, and show how research results can become practical learning units

The EcoGen research cluster

EcoGen brings together five EU-funded livestock research projects, HoloRuminant, Re-Livestock, 3D'Omics, RUMIGEN and GEroNIMO. Their shared aim is to reduce the environmental footprint of livestock while improving efficiency, animal health and resilience to climate change.

The lead project, HoloRuminant, was funded under Horizon 2020 and coordinated by INRAE in France. It studied the microbes that live in and on cattle, sheep and goats, and how they affect animal health and the environmental efficiency of production. This episode turns from the research itself to the question of how its results get used on farms.

Flock of sheep grazing on a green pasture

One of the three talks covers how genetic research is applied in dairy sheep breeding, from parasite resistance to shared genetic evaluation.

Why the gap between research and practice matters

EU research projects produce a large volume of results, but much of it stays in reports and scientific papers that farmers and advisers rarely see. The webinar addresses that gap from three directions: involving farmers during the research, building the links between research institutes and field organisations that let results be applied, and making the results easy to find afterwards. The topics are relevant to livestock farmers and advisers as well as to researchers and project teams planning how their own results will reach practice.

How to register

Registration is online through Zoom. The webinar is supported by the Horizon 2020 projects HoloRuminant, Re-Livestock, GEroNIMO, RUMIGEN and 3D'Omics, which are funded by the European Union. Earlier episodes of the EcoGen series are available on the cluster's webinar playlist.

Frequently asked questions

When is the EcoGen webinar

On Monday 19 October 2026, from 12:00 to 13:00 CEST, which is 13:00 to 14:00 in Greece.

How do I join the webinar

The webinar takes place online on Zoom, and participants register in advance through the Zoom registration page.

What is EU-FarmBook

It is an open-access platform for finding and using practice-oriented knowledge from EU-funded projects. Its role in turning research results into practical learning units is one of the three topics of the webinar.

What is the EcoGen cluster

It is a group of five EU-funded livestock research projects, led by HoloRuminant with Re-Livestock, 3D'Omics, RUMIGEN and GEroNIMO, that work on reducing the environmental footprint of livestock while improving efficiency, animal health and resilience.