Harper Adams University College, PhD, Agriculture and Land-based Research

Current research focuses on 4 main themes: innovation for sustainable agriculture, covering: animal and crop production systems; improving animal health; behaviour and welfare; animal nutrition and metabolism; impact of agricultural systems on farmland birds; effects of conservation tillage on soil biodiversity; impact of climate change on crop quality; soil and water management; optimising tractor performance; agrochemical inputs and delivery; design and development of agricultural buildings; food chain safety and quality, covering: predicting bread wheat quality from the weather; mycotoxins in cereals; optimising sprayer efficacy; research needs of the food industry; food ethics; agri-food supply chain; microbiology of fresh produce; management of alternative crops and farm waste, covering: alternative crops; improving the utilisation of home grown forages; on-farm composting; suppression of crop disease by compost; agricultural waste utilisation using clean and sustainable technologies; sustainable technologies; rural entrepreneurship, covering: re-connecting farming with the consumer; rural regeneration and best-practice business clubs; evaluation of DEFRA policy and the CAP; public opinion: farming, the countryside and food supply; rural healthcheck revisited; agricultural competitiveness and the countryside; China, global food commodity markets and the agri-food supply complex; economic policy and the countryside.