HORIZON-CL6-2026-02-FARM2FORK-05: Boosting circularity and diversification strategies of terrestrial livestock production systems

Livestock production remains a major contributor to agricultural greenhouse-gas emissions, particularly through enteric methane. Horizon Europe is seeking innovation actions capable of advancing feed additives to Technology Readiness Level 7: (System Prototype Demonstration in an Operational Environment) and enabling their adoption across diverse livestock systems. Although the scientific basis for methane-inhibiting additives is strengthening, uptake on farms remains limited. As highlighted in the recent JRC evidence map, most mitigation-focused additives offer substantial climate benefits but deliver little direct value to farmers, while requiring additional management effort and expense. Farmers are effectively asked to shoulder the costs of providing a global environmental good without experiencing corresponding improvements in animal health, productivity or profitability. This “adoption gap” represents one of the principal barriers to achieving the expected outcomes of the call.

A promising pathway to address this lies in combining methane-reducing additives with complementary compounds that provide immediate, farm-level benefits. Our bark extract programme—initially developed to reduce antiparasitic drug reliance—presents an opportunity to generate such private benefits. Bark-derived bioactive compounds show potential to support animal health and reduce the burden of parasitic infections, offering improvements that farmers can directly perceive and value. If these compounds are bundled with established methane-inhibiting additives, the result could be a next-generation “net-zero plus” feed that delivers both productivity gains and climate mitigation.

This approach also provides a strong scientific and translational rationale. Bark extracts currently sit at TRL 4-5 (Technology Validated in a Lab / Component Validated in a Relevant Environment), whereas several methane-inhibiting additives are advancing toward TRL 6 (Technology Prototype Validated in a Relevant Environment) . Integrating these technologies into a combined formulation creates a synergistic innovation pathway with a realistic trajectory to reach TRL 7 within the timeframe of a Horizon Innovation Action. Controlled trials and on-farm validation would assess impacts on methane reduction, health, performance, nitrogen excretion, welfare and product quality, while validating practical delivery strategies across different animal production systems (e.g. intensive, grass-based, organic, etc.). Importantly, rigorous safety, risk assessment and complementarity criteria—aligned with EFSA and EU regulatory requirements—would ensure that the combined solution meets the regulatory and DNSH expectations embedded in the call.

By strengthening the farm-level value proposition, this dual-benefit model directly addresses the adoption barriers identified in JRC analysis and supports the expected outcomes of the call: farmers gaining access to practical, affordable additives with no adverse effects on welfare or productivity; improved advisory and distribution ecosystems; and evidence-based recommendations for CAP and EU Green Deal implementation. The proposed concept therefore offers a scientifically credible, adoption-focused route to increase the mitigation potential of feed additives and accelerate the transition to more sustainable and resilient European livestock systems.