Health, welfare and nutrition
The ‘Health, Welfare and Nutrition’ partnership, led by The University of Nottingham, also includes Harper Adams University and the Royal Veterinary College. AHDB Dairy is a levy-funded, not-for-profit organisation working on behalf of Britain’s dairy farmers.
Academics aim to continue programmes to ensure the health, welfare and nutritional status of the national dairy herd is maintained to world class standards, improving the efficiency of milk production on British dairy farms and enabling the industry to compete in the global market.
Taking the dairy lead
The research partnership programme will make extensive use of the newly-expanded dairy research facilities at Nottingham, which include a new building for nutritional studies, and a flexible-housing facility for studying the space and welfare requirements of dairy cows. The £6m expansion, funded jointly by Innovate UK and the University of Nottingham, recognises Nottingham as the dairy lead in the national Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock(CIEL)
Ray Keatinge, AHDB Head of Animal Science said: “We have found the Research Partnership approach to be particularly effective, delivering good value to the industry. While AHDB Dairy spending on R&D has been reduced, to accommodate expenditure on other areas such as market development, our ongoing relationship with Nottingham University has meant that we can jointly develop new research work focussed on updated priorities set by our Board’’.
Jim Baird, Nether Affleck Farm, and Chairman of the AHDB Dairy Research and Development Advisory Forum (RADAF), said: “Independent, well-targeted R&D is essential to maintaining our competitiveness. This is the underlying driver for RADAF. But potential benefits can only be realised when good research is put into commercial practice’’
Source: TheFarmingForum
Link: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2016/july/helping-british-dairy-farms-maintain-their-global-competitive-position.aspx
