Projects per year
Organisation profile
Organisation profile
The Hill & Mountain Research Centre, with its team of systems-scale researchers, is based at Kirkton and Auchtertyre Farms, a 2,200 ha estate near Crianlarich in the west Highlands of Scotland.
The site is set within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and ranges from productive low ground fields to high altitude (over 1,000 metres above sea level) semi-natural habitats of high nature conservation value.
We are a Linking Environment & Farming (LEAF) Innovation Centre and a member of the Global Farm Platform initiative.
Our work aims to seek economically, environmentally and socially sustainable land management systems in the context of international, national and local land use policies.
In particular, our research and demonstration activities help highlight how precision livestock farming approaches can be used to address agricultural and environmental challenges.
The size and diversity of the farms mean that we can investigate a wide range of questions of relevance to current and future land management in the mountains.
Examples include:
- We are assessing how different types of technology can help hill farmers and crofters improve livestock management and while also reducing costs, improving record keeping and saving time and labour
- We have established a Long Range Wide Area Radio Network (LoraWAN) on the farms and are investigating what types of agricultural or environmental sensors can be used in remote, mountainous areas to improve decision making
- We are using modern genetic selection approaches – such as Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) – to show how best to enhance the productivity, profitability and environmental footprint of sheep flocks on mountain farms
- We are assessing the Public Goods associated with different types of land management in the mountains and demonstrating how a greater focus on biodiversity enhancement can be integrated into mountain farming systems
- We are involved in a range of international research projects and knowledge exchange activities as conditions in Scotland’s mountains are very similar to rangelands elsewhere across the globe
Keywords
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Forestry
- Plant Science
- Soil Science
- General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
Fingerprint
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Profiles
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John Holland
- Integrated Land Management, Hill & Mountain Research Centre - Research Fellow
- Scotland's Rural College - Research Fellow
Person: Academic contract that is research only
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Nicola Lambe
- Integrated Land Management, Hill & Mountain Research Centre - Reader
- Food Security Challenge Centre
- Scotland's Rural College - Reader
Person: Academic contract that is research only
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Davy McCracken
- Integrated Land Management, Hill & Mountain Research Centre - Head of Department
- Scotland's Rural College - Head of Department
Person: Academic contract that is research only
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RESAS 22-27: Mri-b2-2 Monitoring Veterinary Medicine Usage To Improve Animal Performance And Efficiency
Duthie, C., Nicoll, L., Broadbent, C. & Miller, G.
Scottish Government: Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services
1/04/22 → 31/03/27
Project: Research
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RESAS 22-27: SRUC-d1-1 Air Quality: Livestock Farming And Ammonia.
Miller, G., Bowen, J., Rees, B., Newbold, J., Duthie, C., Bell, J., Nicoll, L., Duthie, C., Rees, B., Broadbent, C., Newbold, J. & Bell, D.
Scottish Government: Rural & Environment Science & Analytical Services
1/04/22 → 31/03/27
Project: Research
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15. Strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from pasturebased sheep systems – an EU project consortium view
Conington, J., Lambe, N., Tortereau, F., McGovern, F., Navajas, E., De Barbieri, I., Ciappesoni, G., Jakobsen, J., Smith, E., Yates, J., Le Graverand, Q., McDermott, K., Steinheim, G., Aspeholen Aby, B., Dønnem, I., McHugh, N., Farrell, L., Marie-Etancelin, C., Johnson, P. & Rowe, S., 9 Feb 2023, (First published) Proceedings of 12th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production (WCGALP): Technical and species orientated innovations in animal breeding, and contribution of genetics to solving societal challenges. Wageningen Academic Publishers, p. 107-110Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution
Open AccessFile14 Downloads (Pure) -
Behavioral Adaptations of Nursing Brangus Cows to Virtual Fencing: Insights from a Training Deployment Phase
Nyamuryekung'e, S., Cox, A., Perea, A., Estell, R., Cibils, A., Holland, JP., Waterhouse, A., Duff, G., Funk, M., McIntosh, M., Spiegal, S., Bestelmeyer, B. & Utsumi, S., 17 Nov 2023, (First published) In: Animals. 13, 22, 14 p., 3558.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Deployment of a LoRa-WAN near-real-time precision ranching system on extensive desert rangelands: What we have learned
McIntosh, M., Cibils, A., Nyamuryekung'e, S., Estell, R., Cox, A., Holland, JP., Duni, D., Gong, Q., Waterhouse, A., Cao, H., Boucheron, L., Chen, H., Spiegal, S., Duff, G. & Utsumi, S., Oct 2023, 5 ed. Elsevier. 13 p. (Applied Animal Science)Research output: Book/Report/Policy Brief/Technical Brief › Technical brief
Open AccessFile1 Citation (Scopus)12 Downloads (Pure)
Datasets
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Data from: A critical analysis of the potential for EU Common Agricultural Policy measures to support wild pollinators on farmland
Cole, L. (Creator), Kleijn, D. (Creator), Dicks, L. V. (Creator), Stout, J. (Creator), Potts, S. (Creator), Albrecht, M. (Creator), Balzan, M. V. (Creator), Bartomeus, I. (Creator), Bebeli, P. (Creator), Bevk, D. (Creator), Biesmeijer, J. (Creator), Chlebo, R. (Creator), Dautartė, A. (Creator), Emmanouil , N. (Creator), Hartfield, C. (Creator), Holland, J. (Creator), Holzschuh, A. (Creator), Knoben, N. (Creator), Kovács-Hostyánszki, A. (Creator), Mandelik, Y. (Creator), Panou, H. (Creator), Paxton, R. (Creator), Petanidou, T. (Creator), Pinheiro de Carvalho, M. (Creator), Rundlöf, M. (Creator), Sarthou, J. (Creator), Stavrinides, M. (Creator), Suso, M. (Creator), Szentgyörgyi, H. (Creator), Vaissière, B. E. (Creator), Varnava, A. (Creator), Vilà, M. (Creator), Zemeckis, R. (Creator) & Scheper, J. (Creator), Dryad, 20 Jan 2020
Dataset
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Data from: Estimating demographic contributions to effective population size in an age-structured wild population experiencing environmental and demographic stochasticity
Trask, A. E. (Creator), Bignal, E. M. (Creator), McCracken, D. (Creator), Piertney, S. B. (Creator) & Reid, J. M. (Creator), Dryad, 1 Jan 2018
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.68kk0, https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.68kk0
Dataset
Prizes
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Awarded Professorship in Agricultural Ecology
McCracken, Davy (Recipient), 2013
Prize: Other distinction
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Awarded Readership in Agricultural Ecology
McCracken, Davy (Recipient), 2007
Prize: Other distinction
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Activities
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High Nature Value farmland: the wider European context
Davy McCracken (Speaker)
31 Jan 2023Activity: Talk, evidence or presentation types › Invited talk
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Improving biodiversity on Scotland’s farms and forests
Davy McCracken (Speaker)
1 Jul 2023Activity: Talk, evidence or presentation types › Invited talk
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Improving biodiversity on a hill farm
Davy McCracken (Speaker)
26 Jan 2023Activity: Talk, evidence or presentation types › Invited talk
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