The James Hutton Institute is part of a major new research and innovation project funded by the European Union to strengthen farm profitability and Europe’s livestock-feed resilience by increasing the production, processing and use of home-grown protein crops.
The five-year PROCEED project has secured €5.5 million in funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme and will begin this month (September 2026). It brings together 20 partners from 12 EU countries and the United Kingdom to support protein-crop growers, processors and livestock farmers in developing more sustainable, climate-resilient and economically viable feed systems. The project will focus on grain and forage legumes to reduce dependence on imported protein feeds such as soybean meal
The Hutton will play a central role in establishing PROCEED’s network of 11 regional Practice Hubs across Europe and will support the UK Practice Hub, linking farmers, processors, feed businesses and researchers with project pilot studies that will test practical approaches under real farming and supply-chain conditions and identify those with potential for wider adoption.
Around 25% of the crude protein used in EU animal feed is imported, with soybean and soybean meal accounting for around 72% of that imported protein supply. This dependency makes feed systems vulnerable to global trade disruption, price volatility, and climate-related production shocks.
Professor Pietro (Pete) Iannetta of the Hutton, PROCEED’s Deputy Scientific Co-ordinator, said, “Europe needs more than higher protein-crop yields; it needs viable routes from field to feed. PROCEED will bring growers, processors, feed businesses and livestock farmers together to build the business relationships and locally adapted supply chains needed to improve farm profitability while reducing dependence on imported protein and synthetic nitrogen fertiliser. If these systems are to reach commercially meaningful scales, effective policy and targeted investment will also be essential.”
Professors Pietro Goglio and Pietro Iannetta, Scientific Co-ordinators of PROCEED
Associate Professor Pietro Goglio of the University of Perugia, PROCEED’s Scientific Coordinator, added, “Across Europe, livestock production remains heavily dependent on imported protein feed, while limited home-grown protein-crop production leaves livestock systems exposed to international market, trade and climate shocks. Locally produced grain and forage legumes can help reduce these vulnerabilities while creating new opportunities for European farmers and rural economies.”
European agriculture is already experiencing more frequent droughts, heatwaves, intense rainfall and flooding, all of which are increasing production risks and costs.
Protein crops, particularly grain and forage legumes, can play an important role in building more resilient European feed systems. They can provide high-quality feed while reducing reliance on imported soy and synthetic nitrogen fertilisers. Legume protein crops work with nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria to obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere, reducing their need for synthetic nitrogen fertiliser and the associated greenhouse-gas emissions. They can also improve soil functions, increase biodiversity, support pollinators and enhance the resilience of farming systems, all of which helps make farming and feed systems across Europe more resilient.
PROCEED has two closely linked goals: to increase and stabilise the yields of European-grown protein crops, and to develop cost-effective local and regional processing systems that convert those crops into high-quality livestock feed.
For more information contact Media Officer, Joyce Reid, joyce.reid@hutton.ac.uk, or on 07970 542737