The SRUC Podcast

This episode focuses on the SM@RT project and features an international cast of researchers. Sm@RT is a EU funded project, which started in 2021 and will finish later this year. It is about encouraging uptake of innovations and technologies by sheep and goats farmers in Europe and beyond, and facilitating exchange of knowledge and ideas between farmers and researchers.The project identified farmers needs in terms of technologies, proposed practical solutions and ran participatory events on farms to demonstrate the use of these tools. The idea was to demystify the use of technologies on sheep and goats farms, and learn from different countries.The consortium comprises eight different countries – Estonia, Norway, the UK, Ireland, France, Hungary, Italy and Israel and 11 different partners.The episode is hosted by Claire Morgan-Davies, a researcher at SRUC and the coordinator of the Sm@RT project. Claire is joined by colleagues from:- Norway: Lise Grøva – from the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy- Ireland: Brid McClearn – from Teagasc- Hungary: Renata Klein – from the University of Debrecen- Italy: Valeria Giovannetti – from Agris Sardegna- Israel: Assaf Godo – from the Agricultural Research Organisation- UK: Ann McLaren from SRUCSM@RT websiteSm@RT approach to sheep and goat farming - news piece on SRUC website

This episode of the SRUC podcast is all about transition. Adam Masri, Veterinary Lecturer at SRUC’s School of Veterinary Medicine talks to Veterinary Surgeon Robyn Geddes - a 2023 graduate from the University of Glasgow - about the transition from vet school to that first year in practice.In the podcast Robyn talks about her experience at vet school, what she misses about it, what criteria she thinks are important to consider when looking for that first job in practice, the RCVS’s Vet graduate development program (VetGDP) and much more. It’s a really great chat for anyone who has an interestin studying to be a vet or who is currently studying to be a vet. You’ll hear Robyn’s point of view on lots of the challenges and learnings that are to be had as a vet student. We are aiming to welcome our very first students to SRUC’s new school of veterinary medicine this September here in Aberdeen. It’s a unique model - As only the third Veterinary School in Scotland and the first in over 150 years, the SRUC School of Veterinary Medicine will prepare students for work in the increasingly important rural mixed practice, agricultural and food sectors.Why are we different? The SRUC School of Veterinary Medicine will use innovative teaching methods and curriculum design to ensure that students are fully prepared to work in the variety of high demand sectors.We offer new pathway programmes aimed at those from rural backgrounds who are familiar with the agricultural sector but may not have - or been able to get - the required scientific foundations. Our pathways to study at the vet schoolSRUC School of Veterinary Medicine

In this episode Alison Braddock, Marketing and Business Development Manager asks Heather Stevenson, Veterinary Investigation Officer based at Dumfries Disease Surveillance Centre about Nematodirus. This parasitic worm causes problems in lambs, so this podcast looks at clinical signs, diagnosis and top tips on treatment, prevention and control. The link to SCOPS | Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep is a useful tool to use. Please also see our  Veterinary surveillance blogs | SRUC

There are ten species of bats in Scotland ranging from the Common pipistrelle to the rare Whiskered bat.They are a source of free pest control - with a single bat capable of eating up to 3,000 midges in a night - and are vital for maintaining healthy ecosystems.Learn more about the benefits of bats to farming landscapes and what actions farmers can take to support this protected species on their farms in this episode with Communications Officer Rosie Free and SAC Consultant Harry Fisher.To read more about Bats and Biodiversity, visit: Bats and Biodiversity | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)For more information about the event at Culzean Castle, visit: The Benefits Of Bats On Farmland | Events helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot)

On this special episode of the SRUC podcast, Veterinary Lecturer Adam Masri is joined by Shereene Williams, Global Animal Health Advisor (Vet) at Brooke, Action For Working Horses and Donkeys.Shereene has had a successful career in equine veterinary care, and Adam chats with her about her career journey and the challenges past & present for women in the veterinary sector.Adam also highlights the career of Aleen Cust who became the first female veterinary surgeon in Ireland and Great Britain in 1922.Aleen Cust - WikipediaProfile: Adam MasriThe world needs more vets and farriers - they should be women | BrookeSRUC School of Veterinary MedicineLINKS:SRUC School of Veterinary MedicineBlog by Shereene Williams on how more vets and farriers should be womenAdam's profile - SRUCWikipedia page for Aleen Cust

Lucy and Ely run the Forest and Outdoor Learning Course at SRUC Barony. Here they sit down to have a frank discussion about the role of forest school in education, wider society and what they’ve learned delivering forest school training.LINKS:South of Scotland Training Courses (including forest and outdoor learning courses)SRUC Training CoursesSRUC Wildlife & Conservation Management coursesSRUC Forestry & Arboriculture (academic courses)

We're back with another episode in our beekeeping series, and our second one looking at varroa. Lorraine Johnston, SRUC's Bee Advisory Officer, takes us through monitoring varroa and the dangers it can pose to bee populations. Varroa are tiny red-brown external parasites of honey bees. They are sometimes known as varroa destructor or varroa mites. Varroa is one of the most damaging honey bee pests in the world. A significant varroa mite infestation can lead to the death of a honey bee colony.LINKS MENTIONED IN THE PODCAST:https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/https://nationalbeeunit.com/register/https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/diseases-and-pestshttps://www.nationalbeeunit.com/assets/PDFs/3_Resources_for_beekeepers/Fact_Sheets/Fact_13_Estimating_Varroa_mite_populations.pdf https://www.nationalbeeunit.com/assets/PDFs/3_Resources_for_beekeepers/Advisory_leaflets/APHA_Managing_Varroa_2020_ELECTRONIC_ONLY-1.pdf- https://www.gov.scot/publications/bee-health-improvement-partnership-bhip-annual-report-2022-2023/

In this Veterinary Services ‘On the Hoof’ podcast episode, Alison Braddock, Marketing and Business Development Manager talks to Colin Mason, Centre Manager and VIO from Dumfries about turning out dairy youngstock. This podcast covers Coccidiosis risk and looks at how to prevent post turnout scours plus an overview of Summer Scour Syndrome.

Opening in May 2024, the Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre (RAVIC) is SRUC’s new £12.5m facility developing new links between science and industry to help address planetary health challenges and grow the natural economy.In this episode, William Ancell, Head of Content and Digital at SRUC, speaks with Professor George Gunn about the importance of RAVIC and how it relates to his own career.RAVIC will provide critical expertise and infrastructure to better manage planetary health challenges including antimicrobial resistance, zoonoses, and the effects of climate change through applied research, innovation, education, and consultancy.RAVIC is an SRUC flagship initiative at the interface of farming, aquaculture, animal and human health, creating opportunities for collaborative entrepreneurship, commercial development and education.It will complement the vibrant, thriving life sciences sector already established in Inverness, providing opportunities for synergy and collaborations between local knowledge-based institutions, regional businesses and national partners looking to develop activity in the region.Professor George Gunn is Director of the Rural and Veterinary Innovation Centre. He is Professor of Population Medicine and Zoonoses and has helped win over £50M for SRUC and collaborating institutions, leading research projects in Scotland and internationally. His range of expertise includes livestock disease control with an overarching interest in population medicine and the dynamics of infectious inter-herd diseases and zoonoses. Learn more about RAVIC here.Disclaimer:The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Scotland’s Rural College. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only, not professional advice. The "Scotland’s Rural College" name and all forms and abbreviations (including but not limited to SRUC, and inclusive of SAC Consulting) are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organisation, product, or service.

GreenShed, which has received nearly £3 million in funding from the UK Government, will use cattle waste products to power a methane capturing system and grow indoor crops.Led by SRUC and supported by partners at the University of Strathclyde, Agri-EPI Centre, No Pollution Industrial Systems Ltd, Galebreaker Agri, Organic Power Ireland, N2 Applied and Saturn Bioponics, the shed has been built at SRUC’s Easter Howgate farm.It addresses the need for the livestock farming sector to reduce its GHG emissions while improving productivity, by developing an integrated low carbon, circular, cattle and vertical farming system, bolstering green technology for UK agriculture.Following on from our Introduction to the GreenShed project podcast, find out more about how the technology will benefit farmers in the future in this new episode with Rosie Free and George Baikie as they discuss the project from a farmer's viewpoint. You can learn more at the dedicated webpage for the project.

The Enterprise Challenge is an annual competition run by the SRUC Enterprise Academy for the Rural and Natural Environment that provides all students the opportunity to test, validate and fund new ideas. In this podcast, SRUC Website Officer Lacey Ward speaks with international student Eneyi Oshi - Mastercard Scholar and SRUC student studying Food Security, on her experience of coming to Scotland, studying at SRUC, working with the the Enterprise Academy, and ultimately winning the 2024 Enterprise Challenge. For more information about the MSc Food Security programme at SRUC (awarded by the University of Edinburgh), click here. Find more information about the SRUC Enterprise Academy (including the Enterprise Challenge), click here.

We all know plenty about best practice colostrum management for dairy calves and yet a failure of passive transfer still lies behind many calf health issues we see in dairy herds and beef units. Alison Braddock chats with special guests Katie Denholm and Ali Haggerty who have led several research projects in recent years focussing on these problems on commercial dairy farms. Katie Denholm is a farm animal academic clinician with a special interest in dairy calves and colostrum management at the University of Glasgow. Ali Haggerty is a vet in SW Scotland and provides freelance consultancy to milk processors and other industry bodies as well as research into dairy calf health and colostrum. This podcast complements the webinar of the same name available on the Webinars Bitesize Programme | SRUCDisclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in SRUC and On the Hoof podcasts are the speaker’s own and do not represent the views, thoughts, and opinions of Scotland’s Rural College. The material and information presented here is for general information purposes only, not professional advice. The "Scotland’s Rural College" name and all forms and abbreviations (including but not limited to SRUC, and inclusive of SAC Consulting) are the property of its owner and its use does not imply endorsement of or opposition to any specific organisation, product, or service.

Scottish Apprenticeship Week stands as a beacon of celebration, illuminating the invaluable contributions of apprenticeships across all sectors. It's a time when institutions like SRUC champion the virtues of hands-on learning, fostering a culture where individuals of all ages and backgrounds can thrive.Our guest of honour on this episode are two alumni apprentices. Nia Hunter who won modern apprentice of the year and agriculture learner of the year at last year’s Lantra ALBAS awards. She did her apprenticeship with Shetland Livestock Marketing Group and studied agriculture at SRUC Barony campus. She is joined by Ryan Yuille, a finalist in this years ALBAS who studied Sports Turf at SRUC Elmwood and is a Greenkeeper at North Berwick Golf Club.The podcast also features Sharon Gooding-Hill, Senior Marketing and Student Recruitment Officer who focuses on work based learning and apprenticeships. Sharon is joined by Chris Dickson, lecturer in Sports Turf and greenkeeping at our Elmwood campus - who taught Ryan - and James Orr, senior consulting with our SAC consultancy division who works out in the field with a variety of farms across the central belt of Scotland.Links to the various topics/areas discussed in the episode:Scottish Apprenticeship WeekALBAS AwardsLANTRASRUC ApprenticeshipsSRUC Apprenticeship information for studentsAlumni Stories

In this episode, we talk to Annette Boerlage, Research Fellow at SRUC, who talks us through Aquaculture - what it is and what it entails.We learn about her academic journey through the Netherlands, Vietnam and Canada, and her work in epidemiology. In particular, Annette talks about the devastating impact of microscopic jellyfish on salmon farming in Scotland.Later on, we cover the approach to Aquaculture at SRUC, how the subject is being baked into courses at the new veterinary school in Aberdeen, and a range of short courses developed for industry practitioners.You can find out more about all of the above via the links below:Find out more about our coursesSee Anette's research profile

This ‘On the Hoof’ podcast provides a quick recap about Bovine Abortion Investigation for vets in practice. Alison Braddock, Marketing and Business Development Manager asks Colin Mason, VIO and Centre Manager, Dumfries about what information is needed at the lab, when and what samples to take and not forgetting to celebrate the negative results! The Sampling Guide srucvs-sampling-guide.pdf is available on our website www.sruc.ac.uk/vets

In this latest episode in our beekeeping series, SRUC's Bee Advisory Officer Lorraine Johnston takes us through Varroa - the scourge of many a beekeeper. Lorraine goes through the basics of what Varroa is, how to spot it and what it can lead to.We’ll be doing more on Varroa in later episodes, as it is quite a detailed subject and a big one for beekeepers to be aware of. Lorraine is going on the road in the Highlands to spread the word about bee keeping to farmers, crofters and beginners. These are in-person events delivered in partnership with the Farm Advisory Service. You can find out more at the link below to the FAS website.Links:FAS events on beekeeping - Nairn and DingwallStarting Up Small-Scale Beekeeping – DingwallStarting Up Small-Scale Beekeeping – NairnFAS resourcesManaged pollinators such as honey beesNational Bee UnitNational Bee UnitRegister for the National Bee UnitNational Bee Unit - managing diseases and pests

In this ‘On The Hoof’ podcast for Vets in Practice, Alison Braddock, Marketing and Business Development Manager asks Lorna Shaw, Ruminant Nutritionist SAC Consulting about nutrition for ewes pre-lambing.  Lorna explains about feeding systems and the importance of assessing the adequacy of nutrition on the farm.  Troubleshooting common nutritional issues is also discussed plus how to identify areas for improvement. This podcast complements the bitesize webinar available on our website at Online CPD Academy | SRUC

In this ‘On The Hoof’ podcast for vets in practice, Alison Braddock chats to Dave Wilson, Health Schemes Veterinary Manager about what to do when a client’s animal tests positive for MV following a routine periodic blood test in the Premium Sheep and Goat Health Schemes. The podcast touches on how MV acts in the flock and the disease prevalence in GB. It also looks at the testing methodology and options to tackle the infection and how to cope with a larger flock breakdown. Further details can be found at www.sheepandgoathealth.co.uk

This ‘On The Hoof’ podcast caters for vets in practice with clients testing for Johne’s Disease in the Premium Sheep and Goat Health Schemes (PSGHS). Alison Braddock, Marketing and Business Development Manager talks to Dave Wilson, Health Schemes Veterinary Manager about the testing, paperwork and health plan requirements needed to become Johne’s Accredited and how to maintain health status. They also touch on the risk levels that are used. Further details can be found at www.sheepandgoathealth.co.uk

This ‘On The Hoof’ podcast for vets in practice covers the Premium Sheep and Goat Health Schemes (PSGHS) ‘Monitoring’ Schemes for MV/CAE and Johne’s Disease. This scheme has been designed for flocks who are unable to meet the biosecurity requirements of Accreditation and is a lower health status but it does offer regular flock screening and an early warning to limit disease spread.  Alison Braddock, SRUC Veterinary Services talks to Dave Wilson, Health Schemes Veterinary Manager about the testing and paperwork requirements needed to become PSGHS Monitored and how to maintain Monitored status. Further details can be found at www.sheepandgoathealth.co.uk