Ruminant Nutrition

Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hummel

Jürgen Hummel has been Professor of Ruminant Nutrition at the Department of Livestock Sciences at the University of Göttingen since 2012. He works with various ruminants (cattle, goats and sheep, occasionally also with other herbivores) and has a great enthusiasm for animal feed. Important areas of research include aspects of animal-friendly and environmentally friendly milk production, the investigation of new and sometimes unconventional feedstuffs and studies on methane and microbe formation in the rumen. He is fascinated by all aspects of the processing and digestion of cell wall-rich food in herbivores (how do rumen microbes ferment the feed and how is it broken down by the animal during chewing and re-chewing). In his research, scale levels from physiological aspects in the animal to questions of the entire farm are to be considered.
He studied biology (zoology) in Mainz and then completed his doctorate at Cologne Zoo in 2003 in very close cooperation with the Institute of Animal Nutrition (Prof. E. Pfeffer) at the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Bonn. He also spent his postdoctoral and assistant period in animal nutrition in Bonn (Prof. K.-H. Südekum) and habilitated there in 2011. Among other things, he was involved in 2 DFG research groups as PI. He has published over 160 scientific articles in journals and books.
He is currently Chairman of the Society for Nutritional Physiology (GfE) and has been a member of the Committee for Requirements Standards (AfBN), the scientific institution in Germany that develops supply recommendations for livestock, since 2024. Since 2024, he has also been on the board of the VDLUFA (Association of German Agricultural Research Institutes) as vice president for the animal sector. He has been co-editor of the Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition (Wiley) since 2012. From 2022 to 2024, he was Dean of Infrastructure at the Faculty of Agriculture in Göttingen.

Research focus:

  • Welfare-orientated feeding of dairy cows and goats
  • Suitability of new feedstuffs for ruminants
  • Methane and microbial formation in the rumen
  • Comparative aspects of digestive physiology and cell wall digestion of ruminants and herbivores in general (incl. chewing behavior and food comminution)


Research skills:

  • In vitro fermentation techniques
  • Kinetics of ruminal fermentation
  • Retention time measurements
  • Particle size analysis
  • On-farm research


Selected Publications:

  • Clauss M, Fritz J, Hummel J. (2023). Teeth and the gastrointestinal tract in mammals: when 1 + 1 = 3. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 374: 20220544. Doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0544
  • Hummel J. 2023. Nebenprodukte der Zuckerindustrie. In: Handbuch der Futtermittel (Dänicke S, Flachowsky G, Isselstein J, Jeroch H, Schöne F, Windisch W). S. 368-376. Agrimedia Verlag.
  • Hummel J, Clauss M, Südekum K-H. 2020. Aspects of food comminution in ungulates and their consequences for energy budget. In: Mammalian Teeth – Form and Function. T. Martin u. W. v. Koenigswald (eds.). Verlag Dr. Friedrich Pfeil, München. S. 87-101. ISBN 978-3-89937-266-3
  • Mobashar M, Hummel J, Blank R, Südekum K-H. 2019. Relative contribution of different rumen microbial groups to gas production, short-chain fatty acid and ammonium production from different diets in an in vitro fermentation system. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 103: 17-28. DOI:10.1111/jpn.12996
  • Pfau F, Clauss M, Hummel J. 2023. Is there a difference in ruminal fermentation control between cattle and sheep? A meta-analytical test of a hypothesis on differential particle and fluid retention. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A 277: 111370. doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpa.2023.111370
  • Valerio S, Hummel J, Codron D, Hatt J-M, Clauss M. 2022. Ruminant sorting mechanism protects teeth from abrasives. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 119: e2212447119. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2212447119
  • Zschiesche M, Jansen H, Mensching A, Albers D, Sharifi AR, Hummel J. 2023. Relationship between reticular pH parameters and potential on-farm indicators in early lactating dairy cows. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 109: 1-11. doi: 10.1111/jpn.13678


Research projects:

In the joint research project “FuLaWi”, we are investigating how foliage can be used as alternative feed source for sheep and goats. As part of our work package, we are examining how tree foliage can be preserved through ensiling and how a higher proportion of shoots, which can be expected after mechanical foliage harvest, affects overall feed quality. The focus of our investigation will be on foliage from willow and poplar species..
Project page
The MiZie project investigates pasture-based feeding of organically raised dairy goats and the behavior of goat kids. It focuses on goat’s energy requirements and feed intake on pasture. Further studies on commercial farms evaluate the design of feeding troughs, pasture-based ration formulation, and the metabolic health status of dairy goats. Additionally, the project examines how mother-reared lambs acquire social competence and their feeding behavior.
Project page
Herbs like Plantago have been receiving increasing interest as an integral part of pastures recently. This is linked to characteristics like high drought resistance and their potential to increase biodiversity. When being used as forage for ruminants, they have further interesting features like the potential to decrease enteral methane emissions The project intends to investigate characteristics of herbs as ruminant forage.
Project page

BSc courses

  • BSc.Agr.0323-Sustainability of production systems
  • BSc.Agr.0349-Animal nutrition
  • BSc.Agr.0366-Feed science
    • MSc courses

    • MSc.Agr.0014-Nutrition physiology
    • MSc.Agr.0065-Feed quality management
    • MSc.Agr.0080-Analytical methods in animal nutrition
    • MSc.Agr.0125-Ruminant nutrition
    • M.Pferd.0004: Nutritional physiology and feeding of the horse