Prof Jon Moorby

BA (Oxon), PhD (Glasgow)

Prof Jon Moorby

Chair in Livestock Science

IBERS

Contact Details

Profile

I hold the Chair in Livestock Science.  My research interest is improving the use of feed nutrients for efficient livestock production: farming to make use of feeds that people cannot eat to produce foods that people can eat, while minimising the environmental impact of the processes.  Topics include:

  • Use of forages for improved livestock production
  • Short and long term effects of reducing protein intake of growing and lactating dairy cattle on immediate and subsequent productivity
  • Dietary manipulation to reduce methane emissions from ruminant animals
  • Sustainable intensification of forage-based production systems
  • Improvement of temperate and tropical forages for improved farmer livelihoods

Teaching

Lecturer
Tutor
Grader

Research

I am and have been PI and Co-I on a number of UK and international research projects in Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and South America, that aim to improve the efficiency of use of forage resources for livestock production, optimising the balance of feed nutrient use between useful products (meat and milk) and pollutant emissions (methane and nitrogen).

Research Groups

  • Sustainable Grassland Systems and Agri-Food
  • Agri Systems

Publications

Quail, M, Davies, I, Moorby, J & Fraser, M 2025, 'Comparative intake, digestibility and enteric methane emissions by growing lambs and goat kids fed a medium digestibility grass nuts diet', Animal, vol. 19, no. 5, 101489. 10.1016/j.animal.2025.101489
Zeleke, AW, Dimonaco, NJ, Lawther, K, Lavery, A, Ferris, C, Moorby, J & Huws, SA 2025, 'Reducing crude protein content in the diet of lactating dairy cows improved nitrogen-use-efficiency and reduced N excretion in urine, whilst having no obvious effects on the rumen microbiome', Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, vol. 16, no. 1, 113. 10.1186/s40104-025-01240-7
Molina-Botero, IC, Villegas, DM, Montoya, A, Mazabel, J, Bastidas, M, Ruden, A, Gaviria, H, Peláez, JD, Chará, J, Murgueitio, E, Moorby, J & Arango, J 2024, 'Effect of a silvopastoral system with Leucaena diversifolia on enteric methane emissions, animal performance, and meat fatty acid profile of beef steers', Agroforestry Systems, vol. 98, no. 7, pp. 1967–1984. 10.1007/s10457-024-01046-y
Hanlon, ME, Simoni, M, Moorby, JM, Righi, F, Tsiplakou, E, Kantas, D & Foskolos, A 2023, 'Effects of the addition of non-fibre carbohydrates with different rumen degradation rates in dairy cow high-forage diets using the Rumen Simulation Technique', Animal, vol. 17, no. 4, 100732. 10.1016/j.animal.2023.100732
Belanche, A, Hristov, AN, van Lingen, HJ, Denman, SE, Kebreab, E, Schwarm, A, Kreuzer, M, Niu, M, Eugène, M, Niderkorn, V, Martin, C, Archimède, H, McGee, M, Reynolds, CK, Crompton, LA, Bayat, AR, Yu, Z, Bannink, A, Dijkstra, J, Chaves, AV, Clark, H, Muetzel, S, Lind, V, Moorby, JM, Rooke, JA, Aubry, A, Antezana, W, Wang, M, Hegarty, R, Hutton Oddy, V, Hill, J, Vercoe, PE, Savian, JV, Abdalla, AL, Soltan, YA, Gomes Monteiro, AL, Ku-Vera, JC, Jaurena, G, Gómez-Bravo, CA, Mayorga, OL, Congio, GFS & Yáñez-Ruiz, DR 2023, 'Prediction of enteric methane emissions by sheep using an intercontinental database', Journal of Cleaner Production, vol. 384, 135523. 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.135523
More publications on the Research Portal