Grazing behaviour of beef cattle and its impact on soil nutrient retention and loss

Grazing livestock farmers face huge challenges in meeting public and political concerns about the sustainability and efficiency of their production methods. The urine and faeces deposited by beef cattle make important contributions to maintaining the fertility, structure and productivity of pasture they graze. However these nutrient deposits are often highly concentrated in small areas and there is concern that water runoff, leaching and gaseous emissions is resulting in loss of these valuable nutrients from the soil and contributing to environmental pollution.

Working in partnership with the North Wyke Farm Platform which has sophisticated soil, water and environmental monitoring facilities, this studentship will aim to investigate the relationship between the behaviour of grazing beef cattle and its contribution to the spatial deposition, retention and loss of soil nutrients. These observations of cattle behaviour also have the potential to be related to aspects of beef cattle management and environment factors such as field topography, pasture and sward type, pasture management events, rainfall, prevailing wind strength and direction, environmental and soil temperature and humidity, positioning of feeders, drinkers and contiguous livestock that may influence or explain the cattle behaviours and the likelihood of soil nutrient loss.

In addition, potential behavioural manipulations, such as exploitation of existing topography, positioning of shades, wind breaks, feeding and watering troughs will be investigated to identify practical recommendations for improving the sustainability of livestock grazing management. Throughout the project measures of productivity and welfare will be carried out to demonstrate the impact of cattle behaviour and behavioural manipulations to the farming community.

The studentship will be based in the Animal Welfare and Behaviour Research Group at the School of Veterinary Sciences and there will be opportunities for field work at the Rothamsted Research North Wyke Farm Platform.

PhD or Master by research: We welcome applications at any time of year from self-funded students interested in production animal behaviour, welfare and sustainability research. Please contact [Email Address Removed] if you would like more information, or see: http://www.bris.ac.uk/vetscience/people/becky-r-whay/overview.html

When applying please select ’Veterinary Science’ PhD within the Faculty of Health Sciences.