The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) requested that the rumen microbiology team at AgResearch author a short section on the state and trends of rumen microbial diversity for the upcoming report on the State of the World’s Biodiversity for Food and Agriculture. The Hungate1000 and Global Rumen Census project have been mentioned in this report. As this is a international publication, this is notification with respect to a 'no surprises' policy.