Post-Doctoral position in Forage Evaluation

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Umeå Post-Doctoral position (2 years) in Forage Evaluation SLU develops the understanding and sustainable use of biological natural resources.This is achieved through research, teaching, environmental monitoring and assessment and information extension.SLU has 3000 employees, 4200 undergraduate and postgraduate students.Main campuses are located at Alnarp, Skara, Uppsala and Umeå.www.slu.se The department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden belongs to the Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences, and is located at the SLU-campus in Umeå.In Röbäcksdalen, south of the river (Umeälven), 3 km away, you can find our new dairy research barn and experimental fields appropriately located right here in Umeå's agricultural district.Research and education are influenced by strong interactions between soil, crop and animal sciences.The scientific width enables a holistic approach.The whole chain of production of high quality forage, utilisation and metabolism in the ruminant and effects on milk and meat is considered.Our objective is to be the leading department in forage science in Europe.We are about 40 employees; please have a look at our homepage www.njv.slu.se Work description.Ruminant animals, such as cattle and sheep, are unique, because of their special digestive system based on microbial fermentation.They can convert otherwise unusable plant materials into nutritious feeds.Most of the variation in nutrient supply for ruminants is related to forage quality and intake potential.Therefore accurate estimation of feeding value is very important in improving utilization of forages and other plant materials unusable for human food.The objective of the project is to develop forage evaluation methods including digestion and passage kinetics and intake potential.The project will include both experimental and modeling approaches.Qualifications: Applicants must have a PhD in animal science (ruminant nutrition) or equivalent related discipline, not older than three years.The applicant should have experience in the methodology of feed evaluation, and digestion and passage kinetics in ruminants.Experience of mechanistic modeling and meta-analysis are advantages.The applicant should have good communication skills and proven skills in both oral and written scientific English.SLU is an equal opportunity employer.Documents that should be included in the application: CV, publication list, PhD diploma, copies of no more than five publications.A short description (2-3 pages) of previous research, current research interests of relevance for the position.E-mail addresses and telephone numbers of at least two reference persons should be included.All application documents should be written in English.