Claire Morgan-Davies

• PhD, MSc
• Reader at Scotland's Rural College

CONTEXT Sheep production systems need to become more carbon efficient to meet growing public demands on climate change. Some of the ways postulated to achieve this is to implement new technologies and management strategies such as precision livestock farming (PLF), increased use of high genetic merit animals with estimated breeding values through a...

Although mountain sheep systems suffer from climatic and environmental handicaps that constrain productivity and economic viability, they have an important economic role, maintain habitats and species of high nature conservation value and support the provision of a range of ecosystem services of benefit to society. Using Precision Livestock Farming...

Sheep liveweight and liveweight change are important data both for research and commercial farm management worldwide. However, they can contain errors when procedures in collection are not standardised, including when weighing occurs around other husbandry tasks resulting in varying time delays between removal from grazing and weighing. This resear...

Animal behaviour is an elastic trait that changes according to environmental circumstances and intrinsic properties, such as health or genetic background (i.e., breed). The term behaviour elasticity refers to the range of behaviour that an animal is capable to express. The evaluation of behaviour may be used to estimate either the adaptation capaci...

Despite their predominance worldwide, few studies have been conducted to look at the impact of sheep production systems relying on transhumance practices in arid and continental conditions, on farm-level greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Using Turkey as an example, this paper examines on farm-level GHG emissions calculated for two contrasting sheep p...

Small ruminant (sheep and goat) production of meat and milk is undertaken in diverse topographical and climatic environments and the systems range from extensive to intensive. This could lead to different types of welfare compromise, which need to be managed. Implementing Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) and other new or innovative technologies co...

Comprehensive livestock tracking and behavioral characterization in extensive systems is technically challenging and expensive. Some technologies and data strategies based around proximity information may be more affordable. This paper brings together experiences from two major PLF projects involving cattle in extensive U.S. rangelands and sheep in...

Interest in Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) as a proximity sensor has increased in recent years, but few studies have investigated its potential in an outdoor environment or as a means of localisation. A purpose-built device was designed for the study, which aimed to conduct a calibration to assess the relationship between the Received Signal Strength I...

Pasture-based and small-scale livestock farming systems are the main source of livelihood in the mountain primary sector, ensuring socioeconomic sustainability and biodiversity in rural communities throughout Europe and beyond. Mountain livestock farming (MLF) has attracted substantial research efforts from a wide variety of scientific communities...

The benefit of precision livestock farming (PLF) is well recognised in the more intensive livestock sectors, such as dairy, pig and poultry. However, PLF has not been applied as widely in species where animals are considered to have a lower individual value or with less economic interest, as is the case in small ruminants (SR), or in extensive mana...

There is a growing interest in the influence of vitamin D on ovine non-skeletal health. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between pre-mating vitamin D status, as assessed by serum concentrations of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D; comprising D2 and D3] and subsequent reproductive performance of genetically unimproved Scottish Black...

This experiment is to investigate late-pregnancy nutritional status of unimproved and improved Scottish Blackface and Lleyn twin-bearing ewes farmed together in a Scottish hill farm. The results suggested that Lleyn ewes were as competent as Scottish Blackface ewes in a hill environment and they perhaps consumed more feed.

High Nature Value farming systems cover a large proportion of the agricultural land in marginal and mountain areas of Europe. These large areas face environmental, economic and social challenges and formulating policies that support all these aspects is difficult. Although farmers play an important role in maintaining the ecological diversity of th...

Parasitic roundworm infections are ubiquitous in grazing livestock. Chemical control through the frequent ‘blanket’ administration of anthelmintics (wormers) has been, and remains, the cornerstone in controlling these infections, but this practice is unsustainable. Alternative strategies are available but, even with the plethora of best practice ad...

High proportion of perinatal lamb death is caused by lambing difficulty, that is mainly due to the size of maternal pelvic being disproportionate to the size of her lamb. External pelvic width of unimproved and improved Scottish Blackface and Lleyn ewes were measured using a calliper. The results showed that Lleyn ewes had significantly narrower pe...

Recent renewed drives to maintain farming activities on extensive areas have been encouraged at the EU level, which previously had witnessed a phenomenon of partial abandonment and reduction in flock sizes. Successful restocking with naïve animals from outwith the farm is a challenge, as these animals are not familiar with the landscape and may lac...

The aim of this study was to examine the use of Happy Factor™ weight based targeted selective treatment (TST) on several commercial farms in Scotland in combination with findings from a long term trial on a research farm to assess the potential for TST use in varying farming operations as an alternative to the current regimen of whole flock treatme...

Electronic identification (EID) was investigated in the early 1980s to accurately monitor and track farm livestock movements from one holding to another. Within Europe, legislation governing traceability now requires the identification and registration of most livestock species. In the UK, EID became a mandatory requirement for sheep identification...

Extensive hill sheep systems suffer from poor economic viability and low animal productivity. Appropriate concentrate supplementary feeding during pregnancy is known to improve the success of pregnancy, resulting in live healthy lambs. However, feeding and associated labour present large costs to the farm business. Supplementary feeding should be p...

Extensive sheep farming systems in marginal areas of Europe suffer from climatic and production handicaps. These systems play an important role by providing a source of local skilled labour, even if it is very seasonal. In many cases, labour is also scarce and a major constraint upon viability. Implementing new technologies on such systems could he...

Electronic Identification (EID) is based on Radio Frequency Identification; it was investigated for livestock farming in the early 1980s to accurately monitor and track animal movements. Within Europe, legislation governing traceability requires the identification and registration of some livestock species. In the UK, EID became a mandatory require...

With resistance to anthelmintics in small ruminant gastrointestinal nematodes becoming more prevalent globally, there is a growing need for methods of parasite control to slow the development of resistant parasite strains. Targeted Selective Treatment (TST) based on Happy Factor calculation of minimum weight gain targets for lamb production systems...

This briefing summarises the findings from a survey of farmers to investigate the potential barriers to uptake of Electronic Identification (EID) for sheep management.  Most of the respondents were hill farmers with both sheep and cattle on their farms, whilst a quarter were lowland farmers, with mixed farming (arable and livestock).  The overwhe...

The hill and mountain areas in Europe are multi-faceted and places of differing and often conflicting land activities. Scotland provides a good example of a well-described history of land uses with conflicting provision and management objectives. Using Scotland’s hill areas as a case study, the article argues that using a dual interacting dichotomy...

Hill farming systems in Scotland are the result of long evolution and adaptation to financial, social and political changes. Farming in the hills is a major contributor to rural industry and plays an important role in the economy, environment and social cohesion of these areas. However, it is fragile and has been dependent for many decades on high...

The objective of this study was to define different terminal sire flock environments, based on a range of environmental factors, and then investigate the presence of genotype by environment interactions (G×E) between the environments identified. Data from 79 different terminal sire flocks (40 Texel, 21 Charollais and 18 Suffolk), were analysed usin...

Diversifying farming activity and income sources can potentially prevent further economic decline in hill farming areas. One option is to encourage woodland plantations in line with the Scottish Government’s aim of increasing cover from 17% to 25% by 2050. To assess the potential impact of increasing woodland on hill farm incomes, an optimisation a...

Livestock production in the hills could be improved in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through increased efficiency (output per animal). Research conducted at the Scotland’s Rural College Hill and Mountain Research Centre, Kirkton and Auchtertyre farms is investigating ways of improving efficiency and farm management, using a Precision L...

With recent changes in agricultural policies and livestock numbers in extensive marginal lands, farm labour is becoming a major issue in terms of economic sustainability and farm viability. Whilst there are calls for more efficiency in livestock husbandry, it is paramount to understand what the likely implications of such intensification would be i...

Traditional upland livestock grazing is declining worldwide, leading to concerns about possible impacts on biodiversity. Although monitoring of protected areas often focuses on rare species, management changes also affect currently common species and vegetation structure. "Biodiversity" is a concept rather than a simple variable, and monitoring it...

Extensive sheep farming systems make an important contribution to socio-economic well-being and the 'ecosystem services' that flow from large areas of the UK and elsewhere. They are therefore subject to much policy intervention. However, the animal welfare implications of such interventions and their economic drivers are rarely considered. Under De...

In North-western Europe, most of the land mass is classified as Less Favoured Area (LFA) under European designation and hill farms in these areas are a major contributor to the rural industry. Scotland alone is no different, as its rural land-based industry is fragile and has been dependent for many decades on high and continued levels of support p...

This paper deals with a new approach of describing Scottish stratified sheep production system using information about the breed/crossbreed structure of 133 flocks surveyed in 2006. The aim was to develop a more accurate tool that could simplify the assessment and description of structural changes of this system. The methodology involves grouping s...

This paper sets out to assess stakeholders’ preferences for policy priorities for the management of the hill areas of Scotland, using an adaptive conjoint analysis (ACA) method. The method is used to evaluate trade-offs that stakeholders make between policy priorities. A pre-survey was carried out to obtain a large number of defining characteristic...

A bio-economic linear program based on data from 20 commercial extensive sheep farms was used to predict the effects on aspects of farm management of response to CAP reform in Great Britain. The objective function of the LP was to maximise gross margin while meeting ewe energy requirements from farm grown or purchased feeds on a monthly basis throu...

This study quantified interactions between animal welfare and farm profitability in British extensive sheep farming systems. Qualitative welfare assessment methodology was used to assess welfare from the animal's perspective in 20 commercial extensive sheep farms and to estimate labour demand for welfare, based on the assessed welfare scores using...

Data from each of 5 commercial, extensive sheep farms in Cumbria, UK were used as parameters in a linear program (LP) representing labour and grazing management in such farming systems. The LP maximised ewe enterprise gross margin subject to constraints dictated by the labour availability and land types on each farm. Under the assumptions used, lab...

A novel system combining hill sheep production with native woodland creation has been established in a Scottish mountain valley. This involved implementing an off-wintering regime for a Scottish Blackface ewe flock, fencing approximately one-quarter of the valley, and planting native trees within the fenced area. Comparisons between initial bio-eco...

Survival and mortality of extensive hill ewes are important commercial factors and valuable indicators of welfare, but difficult to study. Body condition scoring is a tried-and-tested management and monitoring tool which has been defined as a good predictor of fitness in ewes and is easily measured under hill farm conditions. This paper presents th...

Despite large numbers of hill sheep reared in the UK, little is known about how hill farmers react to health challenges in their flocks. This paper addresses this lack of knowledge of sheep health management practices and presents farmers' opinions and concerns, particularly regarding ectoparasite control. Focus groups and interviews with UK hill s...

This paper supports the need for new policy developments to produce farm conservation plans specific to local areas. It explores attitudes to land management for conservation and economic goals, and presents views of fanners and local conservationists, who are directly involved in agri‐environmental and farm woodland schemes, in three regions of th...

Traditional upland livestock grazing is declining worldwide, leading to concerns about possible impacts on biodiversity. Although monitoring of protected areas often focuses on rare species, management changes also affect currently common species and vegetation structure. ‘‘Biodiversity’’ is a concept rather than a simple variable, and monitoring i...