Model (UKCEH)
FARMSCOPER (Farm Scale Optimisation of Pollutant Emission Reductions)

Farmscoper is a decision support tool that allows an assessment of the cost and effectiveness of agricultural mitigation methods on multiple pollutants. It incorporates meta-models of a number of different pollutant models which have previously been used for government policy support at national scale. Farmscoper was originally developed for use at farm scale, but the tool has now been expanded (v3) to include functionality to predict pollutant losses and mitigation impacts for multiple farms in order to simulate one or more catchments. It contains all the data required for use at Water Management Catchment scale in England.
Version
v3
Contact
Richard Gooday, RSK ADAS Ltd
Keywords
Release Date
February 2016 (v3)
License
freely available executable version
Operating Requirements
Microsoft Excel 32-bit Windows
Application Type
Spreadsheet
User Interface
Spreadsheet
Support Available
No
Application Scale
national
Geographical Restrictions
Model was developed using data for England and Wales.
Temporal Resolution
Annual
Spatial Resolution
farm to catchment
Primary Purpose
Pollutant losses for multiple pollutants at farm to national scale. Cost and effect of mitigation method implementation.
Key Output Variables
Nutrient losses; Other pollutant losses; GHG losses; Effect on pollutant losses of mitigation method implementation; Cost of mitigation method implementation.
Key Input Variables
Crop areas, livestock numbers, rainfall, soil type, farm practice.
Calibration Required
No
Model Structure
Meta-models of process-based models.
Model Parameterisation
Pollutant losses from meta-models of process-based models. Mitigation rules derived from literature.
Input Data Available on CaMMP Catalogue
some
Documentation
Farmscoper (v1) description: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=WQ0106_10105_FRP.pdf Farmscoper (v3) description: http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=13269_SCF0104_FarmscoperExtensionFinalReport.pdf

Key References

  • Gooday, R.D., Anthony, S.G., Chadwick, D.R., Newell-Price, P., Harris, D., Duethmann, D., Fish, R., Collins, A.L., Winter, M. 2014. Modelling the cost-effectiveness of mitigation methods for multiple pollutants at farm scale. Science of the Total Environment, 468-469, 1198-1209

Input Data

  • Crop areas; area; ha; annual; table
  • Livestock numbers; count; N/A; annual; table
  • Fertiliser use; rate; kg ha-1; annual; table
  • Manure management; N/A; N/A; annual; table
  • Rainfall; flux; mm; annual; table
  • Soil type; table

Output Data

  • 1) Nitrate; flux; kg; annual; table 2) Phosphorus; flux; kg; annual; table 3) Sediment; flux; kg; annual; table 4) Ammonia; flux; kg; annual; table 5) Methane; flux; kg; annual; table 6) Nitrous oxide; flux; kg; annual; table 7) Plant protection products; flux; dose units; annual; table 8) Faecal indicator organisms; flux; cfu; annual; table 9) Soil carbon; flux; t CO2; annual; table 10) Energy use; flux; kg CO2; annual; table 11) Mitigation costs; N/A; £; annual; table

Quality Assurance

Developer Testing
Unknown
Internal Peer Review
Yes
External Peer Review
Yes
Use of Version Control
Yes
Internal Model Audit
Unknown
External Model Audit
Unknown
Quality Assurance Guidelines and Checklists
Unknown
Governance
Unknown
Transparency
Unknown
Periodic Review
Unknown