Andreas Muenger

Tell us about yourself (Who are you? Where are you from? What is your educational background?)

Andreas Muenger
Born and raised on a farm in western Switzerland. Finished studies in agronomy / animal production at ETH Zurich in 1984. In 1997, finished a PhD thesis comparing energy and nitrogen utilisation of dairy cows of different breed types over a lactation cycle, at ETH Zurich. Working in cattle nutrition / milk production at Agroscope, Posieux, Switzerland since 1992.

What is your area of expertise?

Ruminant nutrition; energy metabolism; rumen physiology; grazing systems.

Where does your focus lie within your current project(s)? (related to methane)

Methane production of dairy cows eating high forage / herbage rations; focus on GreenFeed and SF6 methods.

What would be the added value for you of joining an international researchers network? (such as the METHAGENE network)

Meet people with common interests and other ways of looking at common topics; exchange of experience, comparing and refining of methods.

What and/or who inspired you to make a career in science?

Curiosity – the wish to understand and be able to explain.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

To discover how systems in nature work and are connected, and try to extract information and advice useful to the farmer and beneficial to the animal.

What is your most stand-out or surprising moment in science so far?

Had lots of surprises… Maybe standing out: to see that cows which have been bred over generations with very different selection goals still produce their milk with the same biological efficiency.