Dr. Rebecca Smith’s research focuses on making forage crops, which are crops grown to feed animals, more sustainable by reducing methane emissions and improving plant traits, like digestibility. This is done by altering the lignin within the plant cell wall. The altered lignin increases nutrient availability and potentially reduces the time required for cow digestion. Dr. Smith hopes that her work will benefit the scientific community and improve the quality of forage crops and plant-based biofuels to make agriculture more sustainable.