Research funding for farming-linked projects
The latest tranche of funding for projects involving collaborations between the farming industry and researchers aimed at addressing practical problems faced by producers has seen £175,000 awarded to three schemes.
Improving the rate of genetic improvement in dairy cows, investigating alternatives to straw as bedding material for cattle and the economic and environmental benefits of moving cattle across the country to graze to best effect are the three projects to be given the go-ahead under the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF) which looks at grass-root issues.
Backed by £6 million of Scottish Rural Development Programme support, 21 research projects which give farmers access to scientists and scientists access to farms have so far been given the goahead under the initiative, accounting for £5m in funding.
Announcing the funding during a farm visit to view one of the projects, rural affairs minister Mairi Gougeon said that the funding would help drive forward innovation in farming and food production, diversifying jobs and boosting incomes.
“Our rural businesses are full of people with the skills, expertise and potential to drive the rural economy forward. All they need is the right support, delivered at the right time,” said Gougeon. “This £175,000 investment will help diversify their skill-set and ensure innovative technology is at the forefront of our farming and food production industry.”
The project being visited at Dourie Farm in Galloway received £99,789 funding after a group of three farmers kick-started a programme to improve the output of their dairy herds through genetic selection and advance reproductive techniques. The fast breeder project delivered by SRUC aims to improve the slow rate of genetic improvement in dairy cows.
Rory Christie, one of the farmers involved in setting up the venture, said that the Rural Innovation Support Service which is fronted by the Soil Association helped the group get a viable proposal together for a genetic improvement programme, along with help from Mike Coffey of SRUC.
“The KTIF funding now allows us to get started on the work we need to do. Genetic indexing is the first step. We hope that the eventual genetic gains we make from a full breeding programme will not only improve the resilience and sustainability of our own grass-based dairy farms, but can also be shared as a blue print for improvement across the whole livestock sector,” said Christie.
Funding for two other projects went to Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society. The first will look at the practical, environmental and financial feasibility of using locally produced woodchip bedding for livestock in the west of Scotland. And £43,620 has been awarded to investigate the financial and environmental value of moving breeding cattle from summer grazings on the west of the country to be outwintered on forage crops on arable farms in the east.