Internship: identification of Greenhouse Gas Emission Hotspots in the Life Cycle Assessment of Cattle Production in the Massif Central

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INRAE presentation

The French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) is a major player in research and innovation. It is a community of 12,000 people with 272 research, experimental research, and support units located in 18 regional centres throughout France. Internationally, INRAE is among the top research organisations in the agricultural and food sciences, plant and animal sciences, as well as in ecology and environmental science. It is the world’s leading research organisation specialising in agriculture, food and the environment. INRAE’s goal is to be a key player in the transitions necessary to address major global challenges. Faced with a growing world population, climate change, resource scarcity, and declining biodiversity, the Institute has a major role to play in building solutions and supporting the necessary acceleration of agricultural, food and environmental transitions.

Work environment, missions and activities

You will work in the Herbivores joint research unit (UMRH). The mission of this unit is to produce, integrate and disseminate knowledge, and share expertise to design multi-performing herbivore farming systems that meet the challenges of global change (environmental, socio-economic and digital transition). The unit has 118 permanent staff and welcomes 70 non-permanent staff each year. It is organized into 4 research teams, a management team and a support team.

You will work in the DINAMIC team (Digestion, Nutrition, Absorption and Microbes) which conducts research on microbial digestion of animal feed and nutrient absorption which is a decisive link in animal feeding and nutrition research. The team analyzes the principles and mechanisms underlying digestion, ruminal synthesis and digestive absorption. Particular attention is paid to the fine characterization of the ruminal microbial ecosystem in terms of hydrolysis, fermentation and detoxification functions. The objectives covered form a set that extends from food efficiency and reduction of production costs to establishing the nutritional quality and sensory properties of milk and meat products, protecting livestock health, food safety and environmental protection (greenhouse gas), and traceability applications of production systems.

TEROLEA project (Trajectoire de l’élevage Zéro Carbone des ruminants dans la filière oléagineuse) aims to evaluate sustainable mitigation strategies, particularly the inclusion of dietary oilseeds, for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in cattle production systems in the Massif Central. This region is characterized by diverse, predominantly forage-based beef and dairy systems that are essential for maintaining economies and landscapes, but which also contribute significantly to agricultural emissions, especially enteric methane.

Using a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach, selected beef and dairy production case types have been modeled across agro-climatic scenarios for 2025 and 2050. This approach enables a comprehensive evaluation of the environmental, economic, and social impacts of incorporating oilseeds into ruminant diets. Oilseed supplementation is known to influence rumen fermentation pathways, among other mechanisms, thereby reducing enteric methane emissions while maintaining or improving animal performance. However, its overall effectiveness must be assessed at the whole-system level, considering potential trade-offs such as impacts from feed production, nitrogen excretion, and changes in productivity.

The Life Cycle Assessment will quantify impacts from cradle to farm gate, encompassing the entire production chain from feed production to animal outputs, allowing for the identification of key greenhouse gas emission hotspots and the evaluation of mitigation efficiency. The integration of future climatic scenarios (2050) will further enable the assessment of the robustness and adaptability of this dietary mitigation strategy under changing agro-climatic and socio-economic conditions, including impacts on feed availability and quality, system productivity, and emission intensities.

Ultimately, the TEROLEA project aims to provide science-based decision support on the use of oilseeds as a mitigation strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while enhancing resilience and environmental sustainability in Massif central.

The intern will work directly with AKINROPO Tobi and EUGENE Maguy, while benefiting from guidance and support from a project team composed of three permanent and three non-permanent researchers.

Your mission will be to Identificate Greenhouse Gas Emission Hotspots in the Life Cycle Assessment of Cattle Production in the Massif Central.

You will be more specifically in charge of:

• analyzing outputs from the MEANS In-Out model used for Life Cycle Assessment to identify key greenhouse gas emission and other environmental impacts hotspots across beef and dairy systems;
• supporting the processing, harmonization, and quality control of input and output datasets between In-out model and Life Cycle Assessment;
• contributing to the visualization and interpretation of results (tables, figures) at 2 horizons (2030 – 2050);
• communication on data (Sommet de l’Élevage);
• Assisting in the preparation of reports and methodological guidelines.

Training and skills

Recommended training: Master 2 or Engineering School

Desired knowledge: on ruminant production system, climate issues in the livestock sector, mechanisms and factors influencing greenhouse gas emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) in the ruminant production system

Skills sought: proficiency in digital tools, strong communication, data management and organizational skills, with good command of English and French

INRAE's life quality

By joining our teams, you benefit from (depending on the type of contract and its duration):

- 2,5 days of leave per month worked;
- parenting support: CESU childcare, leisure services;
- skills development systems: training, career advise;
- social support: advice and listening, social assistance and loans;
- holiday and leisure services: holiday vouchers, accommodation at preferential rates;
- sports and cultural activities;
- collective catering.

The Theix site located in Saint-Genès-Champanelle is served by the T2C bus line number P39 as well as a demand transport line, it is also equipped with parking and services dedicated to cycling.

How to apply

I send my CV and my motivation letter