Design guide for on-farm demonstrations

The FarmDemo Training Kit supports the organisation of successful farm demonstrations. It collects many interesting tools, guidelines and videos that can help farmers and other farm organisers in organising successful farm demonstrations. The Training Kit will inspire them to uplift their future demonstration events, whether on-farm or online. The Training Kit offers an overview of the most important elements to be considered for preparing, delivering, and evaluating demonstrations on the farm. The FarmDemo Training Kit supports the skills enhancement and capacity building of farm demo organisers. It enables the practical implementation of innovative demo practices on the farm and increases the awareness of the value of farmer-to-farmer exchanges during farm demonstrations

Mapping the H2 resistance effective against Globodera pallida pathotype Pa1 in tetraploid potato

This work was supported by the Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government, the BBSRC, through the joint projects CRF/2009/SCRI/SOP 0929, BB/L008025/1 and BB/K018299/1. Additional funding was obtained through the James Hutton Institute SEEDCORN initiative, AHDB Potato, the Perry Foundation and The Felix Cobbold Trust. Amanpreet Kaur was supported by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission through a Commonwealth split-site Ph.D. grant.Key message: The nematode resistance gene H2 was mapped to the distal end of chromosome 5 in tetraploid potato. The H2 resistance gene, introduced into cultivated potatoes from the wild diploid species Solanum multidissectum, confers a high level of resistance to the Pa1 pathotype of the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida. A cross between tetraploid H2-containing breeding clone P55/7 and susceptible potato variety Picasso yielded an F1 population that segregated approximately 1:1 for the resistance phenotype, which is consistent with a single dominant gene in a simplex configuration. Using genome reduction methodologies RenSeq and GenSeq, the segregating F1 population enabled the genetic characterisation of the resistance through a bulked segregant analysis. A diagnostic RenSeq analysis of the parents confirmed that the resistance in P55/7 cannot be explained by previously characterised resistance genes. Only the variety Picasso contained functionally characterised disease resistance genes Rpi-R1, Rpi-R3a, Rpi-R3b variant, Gpa2 and Rx, which was independently confirmed through effector vacuum infiltration assays. RenSeq and GenSeq independently identified sequence polymorphisms linked to the H2 resistance on the top end of potato chromosome 5. Allele-specific KASP markers further defined the locus containing the H2 gene to a 4.7 Mb interval on the distal short arm of potato chromosome 5 and to positions that correspond to 1.4 MB and 6.1 MB in the potato reference genome.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Nitrogen-neutrality: a step towards sustainability

We propose a novel indicator measuring one dimension of the sustainability of an entity in modern societies: Nitrogen-neutrality. N-neutrality strives to offset Nr releases an entity exerts on the environment from the release of reactive nitrogen (Nr) to the environment by reducing it and by offsetting the Nr releases elsewhere. N-neutrality also aims to increase awareness about the consequences of unintentional releases of nitrogen to the environment. N-neutrality is composed of two quantified elements: Nr released by an entity (e.g. on the basis of the N footprint) and Nr reduction from management and offset projects (N offset). It includes management strategies to reduce nitrogen losses before they occur (e.g., through energy conservation). Each of those elements faces specific challenges with regard to data availability and conceptual development. Impacts of Nr releases to the environment are manifold, and the impact profile of one unit of Nr release depends strongly on the compound released and the local susceptibility to Nr. As such, Nneutrality is more difficult to conceptualize and calculate than C-neutrality. We developed a workable conceptual framework for N-neutrality which was adapted for the 6th International Nitrogen Conference (N2013, Kampala, November 2013). Total N footprint of the surveyed meals at N2013 was 66 kg N. A total of US$ 3050 was collected from the participants and used to offset the conference’s N footprint by supporting the UN Millennium Village cluster Ruhiira in South- Western Uganda. The concept needs further development in particular to better incorporate the spatio-temporal variability of impacts and to standardize the methods to quantify the required N offset to neutralize the Nr releases impact. Criteria for compensation projects need to be sharply defined to allow the development of a market for N offset certificates Online supplementary data available from stacks.iop.org/ERL/9/115001/mmediainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vehicular tracks and the influence of land use and habitat protection in the British uplands

Uplands cover around 25% of the Earth's land surface and comprise highly sensitive soils and habitats of global ecological importance that together provision a suite of valuable ecosystem services. Access to upland areas for land management and recreation is increasingly dependent on the use of motorised vehicles. However, despite the widely acknowledged detrimental consequences of vehicle track development and use, this activity is not currently quantified or monitored. In this study, surfaced and unsurfaced vehicular tracks, footpaths and land cover in an approximately 5% sample of mainland British uplands (1910 km2) were mapped using aerial imagery dating between 2007 and 2016. An information theory approach was used to identify models that best predicted the presence and extent of surfaced tracks as a function of land cover, protected status, extent of blanket peat, proximity to human population and altitude. A total of 2104 km of track were recorded, with 27% defined as being surfaced. This equates to a mean (±SE) track density of 1.10 ± 0.15 km km−2 in current use by vehicles across upland Britain. Areas of managed heather and grass-dominated habitat were the primary predictors of the presence and extent of surfaced tracks and we found no evidence that areas of conservation interest with protective designation were less susceptible to track construction. These data indicate that wide-ranging vehicular track networks exist in ecologically sensitive environments across the British uplands, with implications for the integrity of sensitive habitats and soils. Land use and management activities that are not facilitating ecological improvement or conservation appear to be driving the presence of surfaced tracks in 'protected' areas. The findings suggest that: a) urgent review and revision of upland track legislation is required in Great Britain; and b) wider assessment of upland tracks should be undertaken to inform global conservation strategies for these environments

Dimethyl fumarate in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial

Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) inhibits inflammasome-mediated inflammation and has been proposed as a treatment for patients hospitalised with COVID-19. This randomised, controlled, open-label platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]), is assessing multiple treatments in patients hospitalised for COVID-19 (NCT04381936, ISRCTN50189673). In this assessment of DMF performed at 27 UK hospitals, adults were randomly allocated (1:1) to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus DMF. The primary outcome was clinical status on day 5 measured on a seven-point ordinal scale. Secondary outcomes were time to sustained improvement in clinical status, time to discharge, day 5 peripheral blood oxygenation, day 5 C-reactive protein, and improvement in day 10 clinical status. Between 2 March 2021 and 18 November 2021, 713 patients were enroled in the DMF evaluation, of whom 356 were randomly allocated to receive usual care plus DMF, and 357 to usual care alone. 95% of patients received corticosteroids as part of routine care. There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of DMF on clinical status at day 5 (common odds ratio of unfavourable outcome 1.12; 95% CI 0.86-1.47; p = 0.40). There was no significant effect of DMF on any secondary outcome

UK Dairy Farmer Survey on Production Practices and Attitudes Towards Grass-based and Indoor Systems, 2018-2019

The results of a survey about UK dairy farmers' production practices and views of grass-based and indoor systems. The survey was disseminated between August 2018 and February 2019 online through social media (twitter and facebook), farming and local press and agricultural organisations and in the form of a paper survey posted to 909 Scottish farmers. Postal addresses for Scottish farmers were obtained from the Scottish government. There were 371 responses - 254 from Scotland, 76 from England, 26 from Northern Ireland and 15 from Wales. There were 237 responses to the postal survey in Scotland (additional Scottish surveys were filled in online) and 11 surveys were returned stating that the dairy farm was no longer in business, giving a response rate of 26%. The terms ‘grass-based’ system is used to refer to systems where the cows graze for part of the year. These systems may involve year-round grazing but usually involve a period of housing the cows in winter. An indoor system means that the cows are housed all year-round and do not graze.The aim of the survey was to explore farmers' current practices and their views on the economic, animal welfare and environmental aspects of different systems.This is a social science research project exploring farmer, public and stakeholder views about indoor, pasture based and high input dairy production systems in the UK and Ireland. There are the debates about the environment, economic and animal welfare implications of pasture-based, high input and indoor dairy systems. The UK and Ireland make for a useful comparison because they face different challenges: the Irish dairy sector is grass-based but there are concerns the sector will compromise what is seen as its marketing and economic advantage by increasing yields through increasing feed inputs. The UK sector is diverse, including a proportion of year-round housed farms, which is a contentious practice among the public. This project explores values and decision making around different system to shed light on debates about the future of dairy farming.</p

Irish dairy farmers' survey on production practices and pasture based, high input and indoor systems 2018-2019

The results of a survey about Irish dairy farmers' production practices and views of pasture based, high input and indoor systems. The survey was disseminated between August 2018 and April 2019 online and to a limited extent through Irish agricultural advisory services. There were 398 responses - 18 were returned as paper copies to the researcher and the rest online. The terms ‘pasture-based’ or ‘grass-based’ system are used to refer to systems where the majority feed is grazed grass and forage in the form of silage or hay. These systems may involve year-round grazing but usually involve a period of housing the cows in winter. A higher input system is a system where a higher proportion of feed comes from non-forage feeds such as cereals and concentrate. An indoor system means that the cows are housed all year-round and do not graze.The aim of the survey was to explore farmers' current practices and their views on the economic, animal welfare and environmental aspects of different systems. This includes the predominant pasture based systems in Ireland and the potential for more farms to move towards a higher input and/or indoor systems in future, following the removal of EU milk quotas in 2015. This is a social science research project exploring farmer, public and stakeholder views about indoor, pasture based and high input dairy production systems in the UK and Ireland. There are the debates about the environment, economic and animal welfare implications of pasture-based, high input and indoor dairy systems. The UK and Ireland make for a useful comparison because they face different challenges: the Irish dairy sector is grass-based but there are concerns the sector will compromise what is seen as its marketing and economic advantage by increasing yields through increasing feed inputs. The UK sector is diverse, including a proportion of year-round housed farms, which is a contentious practice among the public. This project explores values and decision making around different system to shed light on debates about the future of dairy farming. </p

CCF Food-Growing Projects Evaluation

No abstract available

Design guide for virtual demonstrations

The FarmDemo Training Kit supports the organisation of successful farm demonstrations. It collects many interesting tools, guidelines and videos that can help farmers and other farm organisers in organising successful farm demonstrations. The Training Kit will inspire them to uplift their future demonstration events, whether on-farm or online. The Training Kit offers an overview of the most important elements to be considered for preparing, delivering, and evaluating demonstrations on the farm. The FarmDemo Training Kit supports the skills enhancement and capacity building of farm demo organisers. It enables the practical implementation of innovative demo practices on the farm and increases the awareness of the value of farmer-to-farmer exchanges during farm demonstrations