Dear friends and colleagues,

On behalf of Aberystwyth and Bangor Universities we would like to invite you to attend the Eighth International Symposium on the Nutrition of Herbivores (ISNH8) in Aberystwyth, Wales in 2011.

Animal agriculture is at a crossroads; competing pressures from competition for land with alternative forms of land use, the need to both mitigate against and adapt to the effects of climate change combined with the need to meet society's demand for safe nutritious food produced at low costs mean that requirements for plant and animal scientists to work together to shape the future of herbivore production has never been stronger.

Here in Wales we have reacted to this challenge by combining our efforts to form a Centre for Integrated Research in the Rural Environment (CIRRE) aimed at developing more sustainable visions of land use.

We, together with our colleagues within the UK represented through the British Society of Animal Science (BSAS) and the British Grassland Society (BGS), would like to welcome colleagues from around the world to debate and discuss the issues raised above within the beautiful Welsh countryside in 2011.

If you are considering attending ISNH8 we encourage you to submit an abstract and to register your attendance. You can download the final announcement with more details of the symposium here.

Yours sincerely, Professor Jamie Newbold Research Director Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) Co-Director of the Centre for Integrated Research in the Rural Environment Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth

Professor Nigel Scollan Leader of Animal and Microbial Science Theme Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) Aberystwyth University Aberystwyth

Dr John Healey Co-Director of the Centre for Integrated Research in the Rural Environment Bangor University Bangor