Exploring the Twitterverse – What can we learn about engaging with farmers on social media?

New research, involving a partnership across the Portfolio between Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), SEFARI Gateway and the Plant Health Centre, has been examining a tale as old as agriculture – how farmers discuss farming. Farmers are quite a sociable group, often discussing on-farm practices with friends and colleagues who are farmers and/or those who engage in some aspect of agriculture.

Potato tuber development and quality: Why do some potato varieties sprout more than others?

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is one of the world's most economically important food crops and holds major significance for future food security. Global potato production has increased steadily from 267 million tonnes in 1990 to 370 in 2019. Despite the importance of potato as a global crop there are still many gaps in knowledge concerning the complex processes involved in potato development from initial growth in the field to long term potato storage.

Does lime application to pastures offer win-win benefits for food production and biodiversity?

In the UK the addition of lime to agricultural land was strongly encouraged by Government subsidy payments to farmers, but since subsidies ceased in the late 1970’s the application of lime has declined with subsequent acidification of many soils. Increasing soil pH is thought to have biodiversity and agricultural benefits including increased bio-availability of soil nutrients, greater plant growth, improved forage quality and enhanced earthworm populations, which in turn could benefit wading birds that rely on them as a food source. This study investigated these reported benefits.

Major weight loss in pregnant cows harms the development of their calves

Body condition scoring is a rapid way to assess fat coverage of livestock. In cattle it is scored on a 1 (lean) to 5 (obese) scale. Scottish beef cows typically gain body condition when grazing and lose some of this condition during the winter before calving in the spring. 

Previous Scottish Government funded work suggested that only a minority (~4%) of farmers used the recommended condition scoring approach and that there was wide variation in body condition of pregnant cows. 

How grassland farmers are tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis head on

Feeding our growing world population without further adverse environmental impacts remains one of farming’s biggest challenges. Farmers are now expected to deliver much more than simply food. Storing Carbon, conserving biodiversity and mitigating floods are amongst the multitude of wider benefits that we now expect from our farmland. 

Eat them to beat them: Can Invasive Plants be Harnessed to Provide a Sustainable Source of Protein?

Invasive plants compete with crops of commercial interest for resources, tending to outgrow them owing to more robust dispersal mechanisms and quicker germination times. Once established, invasive species also become exceedingly difficult to remove. Currently, removal of unwanted plant mass generally involves animal consumption (herbivory), incineration, mechanical removal, or disposal in landfill. The use of herbicides is also a popular and often the preferred method of managing unwanted plant invasion.

Should we graze the uplands of Scotland?

The continued grazing of the uplands is contentious as the goals of rewilding and farming/crofting often appear in conflict. Any changes to land use will result in cascading impacts through ecosystems, and decisions about land-use need to be informed by data to show that benefits will exceed the disbenefits. Our unique, long-term, large-scale grazing experiment at Glen Finglas provides some key pieces of the evidence on the ecological trade-offs that occur when management is changed.

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