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The Herbipôle is a multidisciplinary experimental research platform on ruminants and grasslands, with a regional, national and European vocation, largely opened to scientific and professional partners, federating on a single facility complementary scientific approaches and disciplines. The aims of the research projects conducted at the Herbipôle deal with ruminant farming systems in grassland mountain areas, preserving their welfare and in connection with products qualities (milk, meat, cheeses and meat) and environmental impacts.

The Herbipôle gathers all the INRAE experimental installations of ruminants in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region that are distributed over 3 locations: Laqueuille and Theix in Puy-de-Dôme, and Marcenat in Cantal. The unit is consists of 90 permanent staff. The experimental herds are of 900 bovines and 800 sheep distributed on more than 1100 ha of grassland, located at an altitude between 850 and 1500 m a.s.l.

The Herbipôle facilities benefit from major property renovations thanks to the financial support of the State (INRAE), the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Europe (Feder) and the Cantal County Council.