Opportunity for dairy farms to help reduce phosphorus loss

The University of Reading, in collaboration with Harper Adams University, is running a project looking at reducing phosphorus losses and is searching for dairy farms across the GB to participate.

Participating farms are being asked to complete a simple form to collect data on the amount of annual phosphorus imported into and exported out of their farm (i.e. information on livestock, feed, fertiliser and milk). In cases where the phosphorus content of feeds, manure and soil is unknown, a one-hour farm visit to collect samples for analysis can be arranged.

Dairy farms involved in the project will receive a report on their farm's phosphorus performance to help identify areas to improve phosphorus efficiency on-farm. There will also be anonymised data from all the participating farms for benchmarking performance.

Recruitment for the project closes in March 2020 or earlier if the fifty spaces are filled. This project is part of a three-year PhD studentship funded by AHDB Dairy. For more details or to get involved, please contact the PhD student Brad Harrison (b.harrison@pgr.reading.ac.uk).