In this episode of the Food & Farming podcast, our Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager, Sarah Pick is joined by Simon Turner, a scientist working at Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) with a particular interest in livestock behaviour and how it impacts welfare and maternal performance. 

Flighty cows have been shown to produce poorer calves, but do we know why that is? Up until now, cow temperament has only been looked at from a safety perspective focused on the risk of injury to handlers. However, Simon has been researching how cow temperament can affect her fertility, reproductive performance and ability to produce a vigorous calf that grows well up to weaning. Listen to the podcast to find out more.

This podcast forms part of AHDB’s Maternal Matters project, helping suckler producers breed heifer replacements which are efficient, profitable and fit for the future. For more information, please visit https://ahdb.org.uk/knowledge-library/maternal-matters .