Daffodils for Milk – Daffodils providing diversification opportunities for dairy farming and employment challenged by COVID-19 and Brexit pressures. (DAFOMI)

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**DAFOMI** is a 5 months feasibility research programme to develop emerging solutions to secure post COVID recovery and sustainable increases in the production of milk and dairy products providing diversification opportunities for farming and employment challenged by COVID-19 and Brexit pressures.**DAFOMI** will directly address the disruption of the wider UK dairy supply chain by providing technologies to improve current protein-feed efficiency, using subproducts of the agricultural industry rich in alkaloids, and enabling future market-growth in speciality dairy products (cheese and others).**DAFOMI** will benefit farmers who rely on ruminants for their livelihoods by providing higher incomes, more plentiful, nutritious, and cheaper food, and by generating patterns of development that provide employment and benefit to rural areas while at the same time impacting positively on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.**DAFOMI** will obtain trial data validating a disruptive technology geared to boost dairy feed protein efficiency. This will reduce the carbon footprint of the sector, by reducing direct greenhouse gas emissions (currently more than 90% of the corporate dairy industry emissions are methane produced by the cows, mostly in the form of methane).**DAFOMI** approach is based on greater use of locally available **alkaloids** very specific plant-based chemicals, to improve feed and animal nutrition. **DAFOMI** targets matching ruminant production to adequate feed preparation to maximize protein feed efficiency and improve milk protein content.**DAFOMI** will improve the country's food security and provide the potential for rural job security and further employment for those losing jobs in other sectors.Preliminary **DAFOMI** data estimate that we could improve feed efficiency evaluations by 5-20%, while simultaneously reducing direct methane emissions by 30-35+%.