BRITISH universities are looking for farmers to take part in a new project designed to help increase productivity and profitability on farms, through conducting new research on lamb and calf survival.

The project aims to create an industry-wide neonatal disease control plan, based on the data gathered from an anonymous online survey completed by farmers.

The survey will ask farmers for details on the measures they currently take during the neonatal period, estimates of survival, information on management practices and opinions on reasons behind medicine use.

The project is funded by the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB), and is being run by Edinburgh, Liverpool and Nottingham universities and will link to existing work regarding neonatal disease at Bangor University.

Dr Lis King, AHDB scientist, said: “This project will lead on to a control plan focusing on neonatal disease that could increase productivity and ultimately profitability for beef and sheep farmers. We’ll also be able to understand current antibiotic use and look at options for reducing use on farm, which is key in developing a healthy and sustainable GB livestock industry.”

Alexander Corbishley, lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, said the project could “increase the sector’s efficiency, whilst also promoting sustainable antibiotic use.”

Once the control plan is fully developed, suckler herds and ewe flocks will be invited to pilot the plan around the UK, alongside their veterinary surgeons, before wider release.

The survey will run until 31 January and can be filled in by farmers here: https://edinburgh.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/calves-lambs