News that two new PhD places were to be funded at Queen's in the areas of agricultural & environmental sustainability, by the farmer-funded research organisation AgriSearch, was covered in the local farming media, including Farm Week, Farming Life and the News Letter.

Chief Scientific Advisor to the Scottish government, Professor Julie Fitzpatrick, delivered the IGFS Annual Lecture, emphasising a 'One Health' approach to livestock science. The event picked up coverage in the agri media including local (News Letter, Farming Life, Farm Week); national (Agriland.ie, Agriland.co.uk, British Farming Forum on Facebook) and international (MeatManagement.com).

News that Dr Simon Doherty has been appointed to a senior post at the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association picked up good coverage in the veterinary and agricultural media as well as significant traction on social media.

News that Dr Gareth Arnott was appointed to the Animal Welfare Committee (AWC) which advises the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) as well as the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments, was well received in the regional and national media.

Sustainability research under the Queen's-AFBI Alliance landed some major, international funding and this good news was covered in national titles like The Herald (Scotland); Agriland (ROI & UK versions) and British Farming Forum on Facebook as well as regional titles like Farm Week and Farming Life.

News that researchers from IGFS, AFBI and UCD have come together for a unique, all-island push on tackling Bovine TB, with an emphasis on nutrition and particularly Vitamin D, picked up solid media coverage on both sides of the Irish border.

News that a major project, Re-Livestock, funded by EU Horizon 2020, will bring together researchers from Europe and Australia to explore ways of tackling climate change in livestock farming, made international headlines among the online scientific and academic community.

News that honorary IGFS & SBS Professor John Gilliland was appointed to a high-level EU Mission Board on soil health generated strong media coverage in the agricultural and mainstream press.

News that Finnebrogue Artisan food company generously pledged a bursary in memory of their late founder, Mr Denis Lynn, secured solid local and national coverage including Mail Online, New Food magazine, Food Matters Live, Belfast Telegraph, Irish News, Ulster Grocer, Farm Week and Farming Life.

News that IGFS and the School of Biological Sciences are to play a leading role in a new, government-backed UK network to accelerate the agrifood industry towards Net Zero picked up solid, NI and UK media coverage, including BBC Radio Ulster, Ulster Grocer, Food Matters Live, Belfast Telegraph, British Farming Forum on Facebook, Agriland and Farm Week.

May was a very busy month for communications with a lot of news stories going out from, and events happening, at IGFS and the School of Biological Sciences - including the amazing news that IGFS & the School of Biological Sciences scored No 1 in the UK in the independent REF university-ranking exercise.

A CIEL report - written by experts including from the Institute for Global Food Security and our strategic partners AFBI - that found that GHG emissions could be reduced significantly towards Net Zero if widescale mitigations were adopted across UK farms garnered solid coverage in the local and national agricultural media.

A letter published in The Lancet by a number of food-integrity experts, including Professor Chris Elliott of IGFS, questioned the latest data around the health benefits (or otherwise) of eating unprocessed red meat.

News of a research paper led by Dr Ryan McGuire of IGFS and co-authored by prominent UK campaigner Lord Donald Curry of Kirkharle, arguing that investment in the quality of UK soils and peatlands could significantly boost the de-carbonisation of agriculture, generated widespread coverage in both mainstream and agricultural media.

International research in which our colleague Professor Aedin Cassidy participated - which evidenced a link between foods containing flavonoids and a reduced mortality risk for sufferers of Parkinson's disease - gained widespread, global coverage including Science Daily; Asian News International; EurekAlert and Medical XPress. 

The biggest hitter of the year so far, coverage of our research into feeding cows seaweed to reduce methane emissions, led by Prof Sharon Huws, garnered over 350 items of national and international coverage, including TIME magazine, AOL, Yahoo! Canada, The Independent, The Times, Mail Online, BBC Radio 4 and The Grocer.

News that Dr Julia Sigwart and team discovered a new breed of oyster and named it, plus launched a campaign to protect it and other important marine life in Malaysia, picked up solid coverage including Press Association, Yahoo!Canada, ITV, the Belfast Telegraph, the Irish News as well as media outlets in Malaysia.

News that Dr Katerina Theodoridou's research into whether feeding ruminant livestock willow silage could mitigate against methane and ammonia emmissions, a project carried out in partnership with AFBI NI, picked up local, national and international coverage including the Farmers' Guardian, Agriland, the Herald Ghana, indianarrative.com and Feed Navigator.

Research led by Professor Aedin Cassidy of IGFS, revealing a link between flavonoid consumption (red wine, berries, etc), the gut microbiome and blood pressure, received excellent, international media coverage (over 200 items).