Dr. Bhuvnesh Shrivastava  (University of Delhi, India). A Travelling Fellowship was awarded to support a 6-month period at IBERS, Aberystwyth University, in 2014-15, supervised by Dr. Gareth Wyn Griffith. Experiments were conducted using wheat straw fermented using wood-rotting fungi, and results reported in detail. Additional experience was also gained in other related areas and research techniques.

Luke York (Australia). A Travelling Fellowship was awarded to support the costs of travel to the UK to work during 6 months in 2014 under Dr. C. Heffernan (University of Reading) on developing a simple deterministic model capable of investigating the impacts of climate change on smallholder dairy production within the resource-constrained environment of Orissa, India. The study considered climate-adaptation strategies and reported that high levels of exotic animal genetics can benefit farmers when adaptation strategies are applied.

Dr Lucy A. Akinmosin (Italy). The award of a 4-month Fellowship in spring 2014 was made to build on an existing link and support the recipient's research experience aimed at developing skills and furthering understanding of rumen bacteria in terms of sustainability of meat and milk production. The work was under the supervision of Dr Sharon Huws (IBERS, Aberystwyth University). Outcomes included contributions to two studies: (i) Perturbation of the forage attached rumen microbiome through addition of rumen protozoa increases plant fermentation, and (ii) Homoserine lactone based bacterial cell-cell communication within the rumen.

Professor Murray Grant (University of Exeter, UK). A short-term (1 month) Travelling Fellowship was awarded in 2014 to enable development of research collaborations with New Zealand in analytical approaches around unravelling the molecular basis of the legume-Lolium-Trichoderma-Rhizobium interaction in the roots of clover which results in enhanced clover nodulation and increased pasture productivity. This fellowship was linked to a reciprocal award to Dr Donald Otter, AgResearch New Zealand, to spend a month at the University of Exeter.

Dr Donald Otter (AgResearch, New Zealand) A short-term Fellowship was awarded for travel in 2014 to University of Exeter UK to enable development of research collaborations between New Zealand concerning analytical approaches around unravelling the molecular basis of the legume-Lolium-Trichoderma-Rhizobium interaction in the roots of clover. It is envisaged that samples will be harvested in Exeter and metabolite, peptide and oligosaccharide identification and characterisation will be performed both in Exeter and in AgResearch, New Zealand. This fellowship was linked to a reciprocal award to Professor Murray Grant, Exeter.

Professor Simon Potts (University of Reading, UK). A Travelling Fellowship was awarded to support a 3-month period at the University of Queensland (with Dr Anna Renwick) and at CSIRO (with Dr Nancy Schellhorn and colleagues) in late 2013. The focus was on strengthening Anglo-Australian collaboration in landscape management and food security research. Outcomes included the development of a novel framework for managing landscapes for improved food security.

Dr David Barber (Agri-Science, Queensland, Australia). A Travelling Fellowship was awarded to support a 2-month period with Prof C. Reynolds at the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, UK. His study was on the effect of dietary factors on nitrogen-use efficiency and the relationship with feed utilisation with dairy productions systems. Outcomes included regression analyses based on a study database compiled from 14 long-term experiments.

Dr Abner A. Rodríguez-Carías (Department of Animal Science, University of Puerto Rico). A short-term Travelling Fellowship was awarded to support a period with Dr Nigel Scollan and colleagues at IBERS, Aberystwyth University, UK, to enable the applicant to learn new experimental techniques on degradability of ensiled grasses. He carried out experiments on the ensiling characteristics and aerobic stability of temperate grasses containing different concentrations of water-soluble carbohydrates.

Dr Rocío Rosa García (Servicio Regional de Investigación y Desarrollo Agroalimentario, Asturias, Spain). The award of a Travelling Fellowship was to support a 2-month period at IBERS, Aberystwyth University, UK, working with Dr Mariecia Fraser on biodiversity in upland grassland. Her study included the responses of foliage arthropod fauna to different management strategies. This made use of existing long-term experimental plots set up to test the effects of management on botanical diversity and vegetation dynamics.

Dr Katherine Tozer (AgResearch, Ruakura New Zealand). A Travelling Fellowship was awarded to provide partial support for a short-term research project at the North Wyke Farm Platform of Rothamsted Research, UK, with Robert Orr and colleagues. Outcomes included new research approaches and methods; in particular, a method to assess botanical composition in pastures and an approach for assessing long-term changes in pasture botanical composition and other factors, using a GIS grid-based sampling.

Dr Babita Bohra (World Agroforestry Centre [ICRAF] New Delhi, India). A Travelling Fellowship was awarded to support a 6-month period of research with Dr R.W. Mayes and colleagues at the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, UK. The prime objective of this study was to develop in vitro methodology to predict the methane emissions from ruminant livestock ingesting green forages.

Dr Jenny Dungait (Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, UK). Soil erosion and macronutrient fluxes under simulated rainfall: effects of tillage and crop removal. The award was partial support for a research period during April-September 2012 at the Carbon Mitigation and Sequestration Centre at Ohio State University working with Professor Rattan Lal and his colleagues. The research included field experiments to compare conventional and no-till systems and identified benefits from no-till farming and leaving crop residues in terms of reduced macronutrient removal and soil erosion.

Dr Sumit Singh Dagar (Dairy Microbiology Division, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132001, Haryana, India) received a Fellowship to spend a 6-month period at IBERS, Aberystwyth University, UK, during April-September 2012 working with Dr Joan Edwards. His research was on the influences of the in vitro water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content of Lolium perenne on (i) the rate and number of anaerobic fungal zoospores colonising plant material, and (ii) anaerobic fungal growth and fermentation of plant material.

Dr Vilem Pavlu (Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, and the Grassland Research Station Liberec, Czech Republic) received a Fellowship to spend a period of 10 weeks at IBERS, Aberystwyth University, UK, during May-August 2012 working with Dr Mariecia Fraser and colleagues. His research was on the extent to which sward diversity influences methane emissions from grazing sheep.

Dr Jennifer Firn (Queensland University of Technology, Science and Engineering Faculty, School of Earth, Environmental and Biological Science, Brisbane, Australia) received a Fellowship to support a period of research in summer 2012 based at Lancaster University with Dr Carly Stevens. Her research was on species composition and abundance on acid-soil grasslands, and involved collecting leaf traits, known to correlate with how plants acquire and utilize resources from a list of 26 grasses and forbs considered to be now globally distributed species.

Dr Jan Mládek (Department of Botany, Palacký University, Olomouc, Czech Republic) received a Fellowship to spend 10 weeks during February-March and July-August of 2012 at the James Hutton Institute, Aberdeen, with Professor Robin Pakeman. The main purpose of the research was to disentangle how different management regimes (grazing vs cutting) influence community-weighted plant functional traits, and how plant trait assembly affects the superiority of foraging strategies in species-rich semi-natural grasslands.

Dr Ishaq Ahmad Mian (Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences, KPK Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan) received a Fellowship to spend a 5-month period at Rothamsted Research, North Wyke with the Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems department during June-October 2011. His research was on the effects of drying and rewetting on the N, P, and C dynamics in grassland soils and impacts on their gaseous outputs

Dr. Stanislav Hejduk (Department of Animal Nutrition and Grassland Management, Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic) received a Fellowship to support a 2-month period of research at the Sports Turf Research Institute, Bingley, Yorkshire UK with Dr Stephen Baker. His research was on the evaluation of rootzone mixes and water retentive amendment materials in sports surface constructions, Including an examination of how effectively water release curves can be used to predict the vertical distribution of water within sports turf rootzones.

Dr José Horacio Pagella (Universidad Nacional de La Pampa, Argentina) received a Fellowship to support a 6-month period of post-doctoral research in 2009 at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, with Dr R.W. Mayes and colleagues. His research was on the development of a method of ruminal degradability in situ for dietary plant material, which avoids the need for fistulated animals

Dr Patricia Aikman (Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, UK) received a Fellowship for a 2-month period in 2009 with Dr D O Krause and colleagues at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. Her research was on the effect of sub-acute ruminal acidosis, induced by different diets, on the pathogenicity of rumen Escherichia coli in dairy cows, and also included developing expertise in microbiological and molecular techniques.

Mieso Guru Geda (Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Centre, Zeway, Ethiopia) received a Fellowship for a 6-month period at the Sustainable Livestock Systems Research and Development Group at SAC, Penicuik, Scotland under the supervision of Dr Lutz Bünger. He was involved with projects on factors affecting sheep carcass yield and quality, and gained knowledge of computer tomography scans and other computer skills.

Dr. Ir. Kustantinah (Faculty of Animal Science, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta, Indonesia) received a Fellowship for a 6-month period in 2009 to carry out work on the development of methodology to measure rate of passage in the ruminant digestive tract. Her Fellowship period was based at the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, with Dr R.W. Mayes and colleagues.

Dr. Fujiang Hou (College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, China) received a Fellowship to support part of a 10-month period of research at IBERS Aberystwyth with Professor Nigel Scollan (March 2008 to January 2009). Research included learning about in vitro and in vivo methodologies on ruminant nutrition in relation to methane emissions in ruminant agriculture, and investigations of the potential for high water-soluble carbohydrate perennial ryegrass to decrease methane emissions.

Dr Norbert Maczey (CABI, Egham, Surrey, UK). The fellowship, which was complementary to a project funded under the UK Darwin initiative, was carried out in liaison with the Council of Renewable Natural Resources Research of the Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture during June-July 2008. The main purpose of the fellowship being to provide particular ecological baseline data for the high montane grasslands in the Jigme Dorji National Park and other protected areas in Bhutan.

Georgina K. Crossman (Centre for Rural Policy Research, Department of Politics, University of Exeter, UK). Worked with Professor Hans Andersson and colleagues at the Department of Economics, SLU, Uppsala, Sweden, during May-July 2008.

Dr Bai Xue (Institute of Animal Nutrition, Sichuan Agricultural University, Yaan City 625014, Sichuan Province, China). Worked with Dr Tianhai Yan at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, Hillsborough, Northern Ireland UK, for six months from August 2008 to January 2009.

Getahun Kebede Yadete (Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Centre, P.O.Box: 32, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia). Worked with Dr Tony Waterhouse and colleagues at the SAC Bush Estate in Scotland, UK, during May to November 2008.

Dr James Bennett ( Department of Geography, Environment and Disaster Management, Coventry University, England ). Worked with Dr A Ainslie at ARC-Animal Production Institute, Grahamstown, South Africa, on socio-ecological constraints on the effective functioning of common property regimes for controlling grazing of natural rangeland ( June-July 2007).

Dr Abule Ebro Gedda ( Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Centre, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Ethiopia ). Worked with Dr R W Mayes and Dr E R Ørskov at the Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland, on techniques for determining the nutritive value of rangeland feeds ( June - November 2007).

Tesfaye Lemma Gesese ( Adami Tulu Agricultural Research Centre, Zeway, Ethiopia). Worked with Prof Nigel Scollan at IGER, Aberystwyth, Wales, and Dr I Richardson, University of Bristol, England on the effect of diet on meat quality (April – September 2007).

Dr Scott Johnson ( Scottish Crop Research Institute, Dundee, Scotland ). Worked with Dr Pip Gerard at AgResearch, Ruakura, New Zealand, on the effect of climate change on clover-weevil populations. Worked during two periods - from 3 December 2006 to 23 January 2007 and from 1 March to 2 May 2007.

Dr Carly Stevens ( Lancaster University and the Open University, Milton Keynes, UK ). Worked with Prof D Tilman, University of Minnesota, USA, on the impact of point source nitrogen pollution on prairie grasslands (July - August 2007).

Belete Shenkute Gemeda, Oromia Agricultural Research Institute, Zeway, Ethiopia
Visit to the UK, based at the International Feed Resources Unit, Macaulay Institute, Aberdeen, to study feed analyses for determining intake and digestibility of rangeland forages.

Dr Wenju Liu, Research Center for Eco_environmental sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Visit to the UK, based at Queen's University of Belfast, to investigate the influence ofsoil nutrient management on grassland diversity and productivity, particularly from the viewpoint of ecological stoichiometry using material from a long-term slurry application experiment

Dr Michael R F Lee, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth, Wales
Visit to USA, based at US Dairy Forage Research Center, Madison, Wisconsin, to study the effect of polyphenol oxidase (PPO) on lipolysis in red clover using genetically modified lines with the PPO gene silenced

Dr Katherine N Tozer, School of Agriculture and Food Systems, University of Melbourne, Australia, and Agriculture Group, Lincoln University, New Zealand
Visit to UK, based at Institute of Grassland and Environmental research, North Wyke, Devon, England, to study the impacts of plant-animal interactions on diversity in semi-natural pastures including data analysis from field experiments

Mr R Champion, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke, UK
Visit to New Zealand to carry out research on the welfare and behaviour of grazing ruminants. This involved periods based at AgResearch in Ruakura and Palmerston North and at Lincoln University.

Dr A Thompson, Pastoral and Veterinary Institute, Hamilton, Victoria, Australia
Visit to UK for discussions and review of experimental techniques at IGER, North Wyke, on grazing and biodiversity research.

Dr M R Hutchings, Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh, UK
Visits to AgResearch and Lincoln University, New Zealand to carry out grazing experiments using sheep selected on the basis of their resistance to parasites.

Dr F M Kelliher, Landcare Research, Lincoln, New Zealand
Visit to the UK for discussions at IGER, North Wyke, and University of Edinburgh on nitrous oxide emissions and nitrogen transformations in pastoral soils.

Dr I King, Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, Aberystwyth, UK
Visit to Australia and New Zealand to develop collaboration and undertake initial research on mapping large genome grass species with Adelaide University and with Vialactia Biosciences.

Dr A J Duncan, Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Aberdeen, UK
Visit the Australian National University (Canberra) and the University of Tasmania to study marsupial/Eucalyptus model systems to investigate the extent to which inter-animal variation in detoxification capacity influences diet selection.

Dr A O Jalaosho, College of Animal Science & Livestock Production, University of Agriculture, Nigeria
Visit to the UK, based at Leeds University, in order to collect data from grazing trials and develop mathematical models of ruminant feed intake

Dr W Martindale, Askham Bryan College, Yorkshire, UK
To study 'Landcare' operations based in Hamilton, Australia. The 'Landcare' process has proved to be an innovative way of engaging whole communities in natural resource management.