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Impact: Policy, Animal Health and Welfare: Improved sow and piglet welfare and recommendations and codes of practice for farrowing and lactation systems that better meet sow and piglet needs.
Significance: Farrowing crates restrict sow movements interfering with natural sow behaviour and increasing psychological distress. Used predominantly to protect piglets, SRUC research demonstrated that piglet survival improved in loose-housed environments, undermining crate use.
Beneficiaries: Farmers, sows and piglets, the general public
Attribution: Drs Baxter and Jarvis, Professors Lawrence and Roehe (SRUC). Research collaboration was with Prof Sandra Edwards, University of Newcastle.
Reach: International legislative bans on farrowing crates; voluntary industry uptake of non-crate systems; EU recommendations/legislation on housing at farrowing, guidelines for keeping pigs (e.g. RSPCA Freedom Food).
Impact on health and welfare: The health and welfare of laying hens has been improved by the EU-wide ban on the use of small, barren battery cages, enabled by UoE research on the relationship between cage design and welfare.
Impact on public policy and services: The EU banned conventional battery cages for laying hens through a directive that came into effect on 1st January 2012. New Zealand followed with its own ban in 2012.
Impact on production: Farmers have changed from housing laying hens in battery cages to using more welfare-friendly furnished cages or free-range systems.
Impact on commerce: In the UK, over £400M has been spent to meet the standards laid down by the EU directive.
Beneficiaries: Laying hens in Europe and New Zealand; farmers who use furnished cages as an economically efficient alternative to free-range.
Significance and Reach: The improved welfare of over 1.3 billion laying hens in Europe and New Zealand.
Attribution: All research was led by Dr Michael Appleby, University of Edinburgh (1984-2001), with collaborators at the Roslin Institute (now UoE), Uppsala and Bristol.
Hundreds of millions of laying hens in the European Community are now kept in enriched cages with significantly more space than conventional battery cages and with specific provision for nesting, scratching and perching. Research undertaken at Bristol University provided much of the evidence base for the full implementation of the relevant European directive in January 2012; the prohibition of the conventional battery cage and the introduction of a superior, scientifically researched alternative. This has had a dramatic impact on husbandry standards and the welfare of laying hens. With Bristol's involvement, similar progress has also been made in countries beyond Europe.
BEAA's large-scale research designing and testing alternative grazing management systems for the uplands has achieved impact on the environment and economy. Environmental policy and its implementation via agri-environment schemes has been directly and indirectly influenced, with the evidence provided by the research vital to the development of grazing prescriptions and related payment structures by government agencies and conservation bodies. The results have also benefitted the upland farming community by identifying opportunities for improved productivity and hence economic viability; through e.g. more efficient use of pasture resources leading to higher growth rates for forage-based systems and reduced reliance on purchased feed and fertiliser.
Automotive design analysis software based on qualitative reasoning research in the Advanced Reasoning Group at Aberystwyth is deployed at more than 200 automotive and aeronautic OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers world-wide. The software necessitates companies changing their process for performing design analysis, and companies are willing to do this because of the attendant benefits.
The major benefits of use of the software are early feedback on potential problems with the design of automotive systems, and improved safety of automotive designs. Related benefits are improved product time to market, and cost savings. A representative example of production savings of $2.5 million has been given for use of the software on a single product design, as well as Ford Motor Company's estimate of $20M per year saved in just their company.
Impact: Economic, public policy and animal health and welfare: Selective breeding based upon identification of PRNP genotypes can eliminate animals that are susceptible to scrapie from the flock.
Significance: UK sheep meat exports are worth >£380million. Breeding for scrapie resistance protected the sheep industry from similar damage to that inflicted by BSE on cattle and the UK economy.
Beneficiaries: Farmers, animals, consumers
Attribution: Professor Hunter and Dr. Goldmann (Roslin Institute, now part of UoE) identified polymorphisms of the PrP (PRNP) gene linked to scrapie susceptibility and resistance in sheep.
Reach: International, programmes breeding for resistance to scrapie in sheep are now used in the UK, Europe and USA.
Key findings of two University of Glasgow research programmes have transformed the UK egglaying industry, driving substantial improvements in productivity and bird welfare. First, two of the largest international poultry-breeding companies adopted an innovative new tool for assessing eggshell quality that was validated by University of Glasgow researchers. This tool has improved eggshell quality through selective breeding, with increased numbers of undamaged saleable eggs (saving approximately £10 million annually in the UK alone), as well as enhancing the hatchability of breeding stock eggs. Second, University of Glasgow research on the long-term health and welfare implications of infrared beak trimming influenced UK policy debate, preventing a ban on beak trimming (due to be enacted in 2011) that would have exposed 35 million laying hens to potential pecking injury or death, as well as costing the industry an estimated £4.82-£12.3 million annually.
Practical Waveform Engineering, developed at Cardiff, is having a major impact on how modern- day microwave power amplifiers are designed, delivering real competitive advantages for global communications companies such as Nokia-Siemens-Networks and M/A-COM.
Economic impact is through reduced time-to-market and lower design costs, leading to high- performance power amplifier products. Examples include $40M revenue and employment of additional staff for M/A-Com, and the successful spin-off company Mesuro Ltd., generating revenue in excess of £2.5M.
Impact on practice is through successful demonstration of new device technologies and amplifier architectures, the introduction of PWE-based CAD models, and most significantly, the introduction of the "Cardiff Model" into mainstream simulation tools.
Environmental Impact is by improving the efficiency of power amplifiers and significantly reducing the carbon contribution of mobile communications systems, translating into savings of approximately £2.5M/year and a 17 kiloton reduction in CO2 emission for a typical EU network.
Led by Professor Andrews, a computational method for real time mission planning, based on Binary Decision Diagrams (BDD), was developed in the Mathematical Sciences Department at Loughborough University (LU) from 1993-2003. This is fast and accurate and can be used to support decision-making on system utilisation in real-time operation, which has led to the ability to diagnose in flight faults for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications.
The research has changed the understanding and awareness of the advantages of BDD, resulting in integration into major industrial trials and proprietary software products, including at BAE Systems, one of the world's largest companies in an area of vital importance to UK security and economic development. The methodology has attracted significant research funding in collaborative programmes with industry.
Impact: Policy. Developed a humane culling method for large numbers of poultry in preparation for an outbreak of a notifiable disease such as avian flu (Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, HPAI), which was adopted by Defra.
Significance: In the event of a major disease outbreak, the large scale culling of infected birds would need to be accomplished in humane and cost-effective way.
Beneficiaries: Disease control authorities in all UK Government domains (England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) — more effective statutory controls; poultry production industries — reduced financial losses in case of outbreaks; the wider public — reduced welfare concerns.
Attribution: Prof. Sparks, Dr. Sandilands (SRUC).
Reach: All UK animal health related Government domains.