PhD Studentship: An assessment of calf management and health in block calving dairy herds in England

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Research Office
Location: Newport, Shropshire TF10 8NB
Salary:
As per advert
Post Type: Full Time
Contract Type:
Fixed Term

– 36 Months

– Up to 36 months
Closing Date: 
23.59 hours GMT on Monday 07 November 2022
Reference:  RD-PHD-01-PR-MH

PhD Studentship (36 months funding)

Supervisors: 

Dr Philip Robinson (Director of Studies), Dr Sandy MacKenzie, David Gilbert (co-supervisors).

Project description:

A global trend is for dairy cows to be housed more and grazed less, with more use of concentrate feed and total mixed rations to maximise milk yield and output per cow. 

One exception to this trend in the United Kingdom (UK) is the increasing prevalence of seasonal calving, low-input dairy farming systems in regions of England where the land and climate is suitable for cows to be kept outdoors at pasture almost, or exclusively, all-year-round, resulting in an overall reduction in fixed costs. 

In addition to economic efficiencies, milk processors and retailers are becoming increasingly influenced by consumer preferences for grass-based dairy systems, and low-input farming systems could play an increasingly important role in the UK dairy sector of the future. However, not enough is currently known about the relative merits or challenges for calf welfare within these pasture-based systems, as the majority of research has been conducted on calves in indoor dairy systems (Cuttance et al., 2017; Verdon, 2022). 

Previous studies concerning dairy calves, for example, in Denmark (Vaarst & Sorensen, 2009), The Netherlands (Santman-Berends et al., 2014) and the UK (Palczynski et al., 2022) have found that farmer attitudes and behaviours have important influences on rearing practices and outcomes affecting calf health, welfare and productivity. These findings demonstrate the value of social science approaches to the investigation of the human influence and impact on livestock health and welfare.

This PhD project will therefore utilise a mixed methods approach to investigate and assess calf rearing on low-input English dairy farms, combining both social and natural science approaches. Adopting research methods from the social sciences (e.g. interviews and focus groups) involving dairy farmers and other key industry stakeholders involved with low-input systems, together with laboratory measurement and analysis of calf-based parameters on these farms, the primary objectives of the project are as follows: 

• Describe and analyse the defining features and practices of block calving systems in England;
• Determine the key attitudinal and behavioural influences of farmers and other key stakeholders associated with calf management in low-input dairy herds;
• Evaluate calf health and the metabolic impact on performance in low-input dairy systems.

The supervision team brings together academic and practical expertise in veterinary medicine and epidemiology, social science and metabolomics. 

The research will enable the successful candidate to become an expert in seasonal calving dairy systems, preparing and equipping them for a future career in the dairy industry, government or academia.

Funding:

The studentship covers fees for Home PhD students (UK, Ireland, Isle of Man & Channel Isles) including tuition, bench and writing-up fees. It provides a tax-free stipend starting at the UKRI rate for 2022/2023 of £17,668 per annum. 

Requirements:

Minimum of an upper second class (2:1) honours degree, or equivalent, in Agriculture, Animal Science, Animal Health and Welfare, Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Bioscience or a related discipline.

MSc degree in a related subject is desirable. 

Practical knowledge of dairy farming in the UK will be an advantage. 

Excellent communication and organisational skills are essential. 

A minimum level of competency in English is required. Where necessary, applicants need to be classed as an overall IELTS grade 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component.  

The applicant must hold a UK driving license for travel during fieldwork.  

Contacts:

Informal enquiries – contact the Director of Studies, Dr Philip Robinson: probinson@harper-adams.ac.uk

Applicants will be required to submit a standard application to the University.

Harper Adams University is one of the premier UK Higher Education institutions focused on the land-based and food supply chain sector. With around 2,800 undergraduate students, plus those completing postgraduate, research and CPD programmes, Harper Adams University is the UK’s largest single provider of higher education for these subjects.  Programmes fall into eleven broad subject areas – but none operate in isolation. Community and collaboration are key at Harper Adams, meaning everyone, including staff, students and industry partners, benefits from a close network of knowledge and opportunity exchange. Situated in Shropshire, the campus and the surrounding area provide an excellent working and living environment for staff and students alike.

Harper Adams is consistently positioned highly in a range of national ratings, performance measures and league tables. The University has been the highest performing modern university in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide for the last four years, climbing to 17th place in the overall league table. In the 2020 guide Harper Adams was named Modern University of the Year and runner-up University of the Year. In the 2019 Whatuni? Student Choice Awards, based on student reviews, Harper Adams won the Student Support category for the fifth time – the only university to have taken the title since the awards began – and won the category for best job prospects for a fourth year running. In the 2020 QS World Rankings for Agriculture and Forestry published in March 2020, Harper Adams was ranked first in the UK for academic reputation and second in the world for its reputation with employers.

Applied research is at the heart of the university’s activity, with the work of a thriving academic community underpinning both teaching and work with the industries allied to Harper. The 2014 Government Research Excellence Framework rated all of the university’s research as “of international quality”, and more than half was deemed “world leading” or “internationally excellent”.