£2.5m for dairy research at University of Nottingham

PA212/11 Scientists at The University of Nottingham will lead a major new research programme to help British dairy farms maintain a globally competitive position. The five-year programme, funded with £2.5m from industry body DairyCo, will conduct cutting-edge research on herd welfare, diet, grazing, health and disease — delivering the benefits of that research direct to British dairy farmers. Academics aim to develop 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. The research will be undertaken as a joint project between the University's School of Biosciences and its School of Veterinary Medicine and Science. Together, they are number one in the UK for research in this field — their joint submission in the last Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) was ranked top in the category of Agriculture, Veterinary and Food Sciences. The 'Health, Welfare and Nutrition' partnership, led by Nottingham, also includes five other institutions: Harper Adams University College, the Royal Veterinary College, Bristol University, the Scottish Agricultural College and the University of Aberystwyth. Professor Phil Garnsworthy, of The University of Nottingham's School of Biosciences, is leading the project.