Raniel Valencia

Raniel A. Valencia is an early-stage doctoral researcher (DR) at the School of Agriculture, Policy, and Development, University of Reading, United Kingdom, within the Horizon LegumeLegacy Doctoral Network. He is under the supervision of Professor Chris Reynolds and Professor John Hammond.

Raniel completed his Master of Science in Agriculture, with a major in Animal Science (Ruminant Nutrition), at the Department of Animal Science and Technology, Sunchon National University, South Korea in February 2022. During this time, he worked under the guidance of Professor Sang Suk-Lee and was involved in various projects related to in vitro rumen fermentation trials, in situ trials of different forages, and in vivo feeding trials for cattle.

Currently, as he pursues his PhD at the University of Reading, his research focus is on quantifying nutrient dynamics in diverse forages for animals and their environmental performance. His study aims to identify the optimal combinations of diverse forage mixes and their maturity stages to enhance overall system productivity. It also seeks to understand how forage maturity influences digestibility and methane production, with the goal of minimizing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the research will investigate the effects of drought stress on forage quality and digestibility. Lastly, Raniel has a keen interest in utilizing Life Cycle Analysis to assess the combined impact of changes in milk yield and enteric methane fermentation from different harvest regimes across the production cycle.

Project Title

Quantifying nutrient dynamics in diverse forages for animals and environmental performance.

Supervisors

Prof. Chris Reynolds (Primary Supervisor)
Prof. John Hammond
Prof.Caroline Brophy