For Ethiopia to successfully tackle current feed security, livestock production and climate-change challenges, high-quality, productive and adapted forage options hold the key. This study identified locally suited, high-yielding and quality forage species (that can improve animal productivity and simultaneously contribute to reducing methane emissions) for smallholder crop–livestock farmers in Ethiopia. The results of the study will support the growing national and global initiatives aimed at designing of context-specific livestock development options in the smallholder production systems.

Climate and rainfall changes are prompting wheat farmers to deep sow seeds for timely germination when topsoil is dry. Deep sowing reduces crop density because of short coleoptiles, a feature of modern wheat seedlings with reduced height genes. We found that alternative height genes and a novel coleoptile length (CL) allele increase CL and improve crop establishment. Integrating these genes into modern wheat could enhance establishment when deep-sown, adapting to a changing climate.