dr mariecia fraser - ahdb beef &...
TRANSCRIPT
Research for upland farming
Dr Mariecia Fraser
Biodiversity Carbon
Water Amenity value
Food
Energy
Timber
Improved
Semi-natural rough grazing
Bronydd Mawr
1984 – 2009
Brecon Beacons
Joint initiative with HFRO/Macaulay
Pwllpeiran Upland Research Platform
Cahn Hill Improvement Scheme in 1930s
MAFF experimental husbandry farm 1950s
ADAS until 2012
Cambrian Mountains
Adjacent to Elenydd SAC
Effects of mixed grazing
Improved performance
when cattle grazing
incorporated
Fraser et al, 2007
Sheep with steers
a
bc
b
c
Sheep with suckler cows
Meta-analysis of 4 yrs data:
System: P<0.001
Year: P<0.01
System x Year: ns
Mixed grazing improved the liveweight gains of lambs, particularly post weaning, regardless of the duration of cattle grazing or the cattle:sheep ratio.
Fraser et al, 2013, 2014
Forage legumes Grazed by finishing lambs
• Higher growth rates
• Reduction in time to finish
• Similar liveweights at finish
• Higher KO% for red clover
• Similar carcass composition
• Meat quality similar
Ensiled for pregnant ewes:
• Higher intakes
• Increased lambs growth rates
post partum
Fraser et al, 2000, 2004; Speijers et al., 2005, 2007a, 2007b
Percentage inclusion of red clover silage
• 10 month old Charolais-cross
steers
• 10 week winter feeding trial
• Performance influenced by
inclusion of red clover silage
• Growth rates increased as
percentage of red clover in the
diet increased
Ensiled red clover
Future work
• New crops and varieties
• Testing establishment, performance and
persistency
• Multi-species mixes
• Role in water and carbon management
• Long-term impacts of management changes
Galantamine is a pharmaceutical product that has
been an approved Alzheimer’s Disease treatment
since 1998.
Galantamine is mainly produced from plants.
Daffodils are the only economically feasible plant
source for cultivation in the UK.
Daffodils in upland areas have a higher yield of
galanthamine
Yellow Gold
New approach for producing daffodil-derived
galanthamine
Daffodils sown into existing upland pasture
Project will cover:
- Machinery for planting and harvesting
- Establishment and yields
- Role of grazing management
- Impact on sheep performance
- Optimum fertiliser regimes
Historically:
Production drive and headage payments
Increase in sheep numbers
Habitat degradation caused by overgrazing
Decoupling has raised new issues: destocking,
undergrazing
How do we achieve what we want? (assuming
we know what that is…)
More recently:
Introducing cattle
Less selective grazers.
Greater ability to remove low digestibility biomass.
But may cause more damage to Calluna if grass availability is low.
Trampling helps to create bare ground and ‘open up’ dense swards.
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CharX WB CharX WB
Liv
e-w
eig
ht
gain
(g
/kg
)
Improved SNRG
Sign. Breed ** Forage *** Breed x Forage ns
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CharX WB CharX WB L
ive
-weig
ht
gain
(g
/kg
)
Improved SNRG
Sign. Breed ns Forage *** Breed x Forage ns
~ 9 months ~ 20 months
The role of breed type
Fraser et al, 2009
Carcass conformation similar for both breeds.
Pasture type had more effect on fatty acid composition than breed.
SNRG-grazed had less overall fat and a slightly better PUFA content.
Higher vitamin E in meat from SNRG.
No effect of diet on eating quality.
Effect on meat quality
Fraser et al, 2009
Traditional breeds may provide aesthetic & cultural value,
but is there evidence they provide specific grazing
benefits for grassland biodiversity?
Welsh Black Continental cross
Experiments with cattle investigating breed × nutritional
environment interactions.
Limousin cross Belted Galloway
Steers
Suckler cows
No effect of breed type
on utilisation of Molinia Fraser et al, 2009, 2013
On ryegrass:
Growth similar - 1.08 vs 1.00 kg/d.
On hill pasture:
Growth similar – 0.34 vs 0.25 kg/d.
a a
a b
Methane production
Fraser et al, 2014
Evidence from Europe of breed differences.
Differences found in the diets of Scottish Blackface
and Welsh Mountain sheep grazing moorland.
The role breed type: sheep
Information and models
relating to the impact of
sheep in the uplands is
largely based on data
Scottish Blackfaces.
Fraser et al, 2009
Bioenergy from semi-natural
grassland
Corton et al, 2012
• New income streams
• Exploits an under-utilised resource
• Processing options explored
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Biomass storage tank Hydro-thermal conditioning Screw press for mechanical separation
Mash water tank Press fluid storage tank Digester
Biogas burner 8 Press cake dryer Heat exchanger
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Knowledge gaps
• Impact of grazing on carbon capture
• Role in water management
• Effect of changing breed types and sizes
• Grazing prescriptions and making LUs meaningful
• Manipulating grazing patterns
• Alternative grazers
• Alternative uses for grassland
• Integrating these
Summary
• New technologies and developments
• Multi-functional landscapes
• Renewed focus on uplands
• Capability to deliver
@uplandresources