Dear Colleagues,

Ruminants are a vital component of many cultures, rural economies, and landscapes around the world. They contribute to human well-being by increasing food security and providing farm income, and employment. However, ruminant production systems are often the focus of public debates, as they are often considered liable for significant environmental pollution and low resource use efficiency. In recent years, many efforts have been made to attain a reduction of excretion and emission of environmental pollutants from ruminants. Nevertheless, there is still room for further improvement in ruminant sustainability. Thus, with this Special Issue, we are looking for cross-discipline studies that cover aspects ranging from the environmental impact assessment to animal feeding/management and consumer sciences with a common objective of updating the available options to improve the sustainability of ruminant production systems.

In particular, the original manuscripts may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

(i) environmental footprint assessment of ruminant production systems and possible mitigation options;
(ii) practical strategies designed to increase production efficiency;
(iii) use and promotion of alternative feed sources to reduce human-animal food competition and foster circular economy paths between agricultural production chains;
(iv) valorization of locally available feed resources;
(v) sustainable practices for on-farm forage production;
(vi) manure management.

Emphasis will be given to strategies to reduce the excretion of nutrients and to mitigate enteric emissions through precision feeding approaches, feed digestibility improvement, and rumen microbiome selection. Related topics, such as farm waste recycling, alternative producing strategies, organic farming, social sustainability, and consumers’ willingness to pay for eco-labeled and welfare-friendly ruminants products will be also covered. For each of the topics updated reviews are also welcome.

Dr. Francesco Serrapica
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• ruminants
• environmental footprint
• sustainable agriculture
• production efficiency
• nutrients utilization