News and Events
Alternative Bedding Options for Dairy Cows: Recycled Manure Solids
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, Aberystwyth University.
March 2024
Recycled manure solids (RMS) otherwise known as separated manure solids, dairy waste solids or green bedding is an alternative form of bedding for dairy cows.
In the UK and Wales, the use...
Opportunities for the Valorisation of Manure and Slurry and its Use Within a Circular Economy
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, Aberystwyth University.
April 2024
Manure and slurry can be regarded as both a valuable resource and a waste product.
The valorisation of manure and slurry and its use within circular economies offers an opportunity to reduce...
Phytoremediation: The Role of Plants to Purify Agricultural Wastewaters
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, KEHub, Aberystwyth University.
April 2024
Phytoremediation is a green technology that involves the use of plants to remove toxic components or contaminants from either the air, within soil or from aqueous solutions.
Phytoremediation offers the potential...
Calf Housing and Bovine Respiratory Disease
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, KEHub, Aberystwyth University.
January 2024
-
Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is one of the main causes of calf mortality in the UK and can be costly to producers through loss of animals, treatment costs and poor animal...
Forage Crops for Finishing Lambs: Brassicas
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, KEHub, Aberystwyth University.
February 2024
-
Forage crops can be fed to ruminants in periods where there are forage gaps and therefore extend the grazing season and reduce reliance on supplementary feeds.
- Brassicas typically have...
Working Towards a More Sustainable Future: Breeding Sheep for Resistance and Resilience to Gastrointestinal Nematodes
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, Aberystwyth University.
December 2023
- Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) can have damaging effects on animal performance, health and welfare and are estimated to cost the UK sheep sector a considerable amount of money each year from loss of...
Future Opportunities for Sheep Genetics in Wales: Breeding for Improved Wool Quality
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, KEHub, Aberystwyth University.
January 2024
The shearing of a sheep’s fleece is a welfare essential animal husbandry practice that helps to protect sheep from ectoparasites and from developing heat stress in the summer...
Strategies to Control Docks on Farm
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, Aberystwyth University.
December 2023
- Docks are perennial weeds that compete with forages of nutritional importance for livestock production. A heavy presence of docks within pastures and grasslands can be problematic where they can reduce forage productivity...
Working Towards a More Sustainable Future: Breeding sheep for lower methane emissions
Dr Natalie Meades: IBERS, Aberystwyth University.
December 2023
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that has a high global warming potential. Within the agricultural industry ruminants are identified as being high emitters of methane, where enteric fermentation accounts for...