Anna Hessle

I am an animal scientist, associate professor of nutrition in beef production and employed at SLU in Skara since 1999. In addition to research and some teaching, I am the coordinator of SLU Götala Beef and Lamb Research Centre, which is SLU's research facility for beef and lamb production. I am also head (assisting head of department) of the subject Beef and Lamb Production at the Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare.

My research deals with various aspects of nutrition and feeding in cattle with a special focus on beef production on semi-natural grasslands. I like interdisciplinary research where the results have a clear application and usability. During my doctoral studies, and shortly thereafter, my research focus was on how to raise beef cattle on semi-natural grasslands and combine the production of high-quality carcasses with grazing that benefits the biodiversity of plants and animals in the pastures. Both in my PhD work and in a couple of subsequent studies, my research colleagues and I have studied grazing behavior and grassland ecology.

Since then, I have worked in many different projects where I have been responsible for the feeding and production aspects of growing young cattle, not only in pasture-based systems but also in indoor production. Sometimes the focus has been on the animals' feeding, but sometimes other things such as meat quality, economics, animal welfare or pasture-borne parasites.

In recent years, I have increasingly spent time on projects a little further from the animals themselves. Among other things, I have worked with sustainability indicators in Swedish meat production and on livestock farms of various types across the EU. In another EU project, in which I participate, the focus is on communication and knowledge exchange with the aim of increasing competence in grazing management.

Collaborative projects are ongoing all the time. Currently, I am responsible for a joint initiative on research in beef and lamb meat production with the Västra Götaland Region and the Swedish Rural Economy and Agricultural Society Sjuhärad. I participate in several research networks in Sweden, the Nordic countries and the EU in various projects.

My Orcid address is https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5195-1186.

I lecture and supervise student theses, especially in the animal science and veterinary education.