Agriculture | SEFARI

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Fi Kenyon with sheep and weight crates

Dr Geoffrey Foster

Geoff Foster is a microbiologist with extensive experience of farm, companion and wildlife animals, inhabiting land, sea and air, as well as their interactions with humans and other species, including zoonoses and antimicrobial resistance.

Geoffrey Foster

SRUC Veterinary Services,

An Lochran,

10 Inverness Campus,

Inverness IV2 5NA

Taste of Plants

Future food systems will face unique challenges in order to meet the nutritional needs of an increasing population which need to both cater for our lifestyle choices and address our growing environmental concerns. For example, an important issue will be an increased demand for protein, while confronting environmental challenges, such as climate change. We need to consider the environmental consequences of our dietary choices if our food system is to remain secure.

Nematodirus battus: Is it likely to spiral out of control?

Farming practices are evolving in response to intensification, diversification and climate change. As farm management has changed, pathogens of livestock have also adapted to optimise their reproduction and transmission opportunities. Our work, supported by Animal and Horticultural Development Board (AHDB), has focused on the control and biology of the economically important roundworm Nematodirus battus; a gut roundworm which annually threatens the health and welfare of young lambs across the UK. Our research has explored how Nematodirus behaves on commercial sheep farms.

Not all roots are equal – so what?

Soil is, and always will be, a very valuable resource. Soil is critical for food production and regulating several services to the wider environment, such as flood regulation and storing carbon. Soil is not perfect, however. Occasionally landslides and soil erosion can impact our lives causing significant delays and disruption requiring new approaches and landscape management strategies.

SEFARI Gateway Update

The unpreceded COVID-19 health, economic and societal crisis has understandably dominated Gateway’s recent activity. Gateway, on behalf of the SEFARI Directors Executive, has prepared a report on the huge effort that all institutes and staff have undertaken to help the fight against COVID-19.

Sowing Wild Seeds

SEFARI experts in plant diversity, human nutrition and soil science have been exploring variation in wild and domesticated food plants relevant to nutrition and health. In the longer term, this research could help to improve the nutritional potential of our crops but in the meantime, you can experiment for yourself by growing wild or unusual seeds.

Arable Scotland

In recognition of the developing COVID-19 situation, Arable Scotland 2020 will move to a virtual format with key activity taking place on the original date of the Thursday 2nd July and a suite of webinars, videos, podcasts, articles, press coverage and resources delivered online to continue to deliver the important messages and content of this key industry event. Hopefully even more people will be able to engage this way and we can collectively use this as a focal point to meet and interact in a virtual way.

This year the theme is 'alternative crops' and the four zones are:

2nd of July 2020 - 10:00

Sorry, this event has already happened. Have a look at our upcoming events.

NSA and Moredun 'iceberg' disease webinars: The problem of subclinical disease lurking beneath the surface

Along with so many other things, Covid-19 scuppered our plans to travel the length and breadth of the UK delivering sheep health road-shows in association with NSA and SRUC. Nevertheless, we were all keen to ensure that these important messages were still delivered so we agreed to embrace modern technology and try online webinars to inform all those interested on the risks posed by these “iceberg” diseases.

Soils and Crofting Resources: Diversity is Key to Life

Soil is fundamental to life on our planet. Soil can be thought of as our earth’s protective skin. It nourishes us with food, provides fresh air and water, allows a rich biodiversity to flourish, protects us from climate change impacts and also provides timber to be produced for building materials. It must be protected or we will perish. It is a vital resource - particularly in the communities that primarily live off the land, such as in our crofting communities.

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