Contact Daniel Sandars

Areas of expertise

Background

Professional recognition and accreditation:

  1. Chartered Environmental (CEnv) registered as a Member of the Institute of Agricultural Management (MIAgrM)
  2. Associate Fellow of the Operational Research Society (AFORS)
  3. Competent Communicator (CC) within Toastmasters International.

Qualifications:

  1. MSc, Operational Research, 2004, University of Hertfordshire
  2. MSc, Applied Environmental 1994, Science, Wye College, University of London
  3. BSc (Hons), Agriculture, 1990, Seale-Hayne College, Polytechnic Southwest.

Positions:

  • 01/2006-date Research Officer: (agricultural decision modelling and analysis) now Research Fellow in Operational Research in Natural Resources
  • 07/2003-12/ 2005 Research Officer: agricultural decision modelling and analysis at Silsoe Research Institute, Wrest Park Silsoe, Bedford, UK
  • 10/1995-06/2003 Research Assistant: agricultural decision modelling and analysis at Silsoe Research Institute, Wrest Park Silsoe, Bedford, UK
  • 09/1994-09/1995 Assistant Consultant: bio-energy systems decision modeller at LRZ (Bio-energy Systems) Ltd, Herts., UK
  • Pre 1993/4 Various position in livestock and arable agriculture in the UK and the Netherlands culminating in a year as a dairy herd manager in Kent

Current activities

Daniel Sandars is experienced in systems modelling and application of quantitative methods such as linear programming (LP), data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle analysis (LCA) to decisions and policy within agriculture and frequently its impact on the environment.

Recent research work has involved:

  • Developing a model to disaggregate the UK cattle industry into its common productions using data from the Cattle Tracing Service database to enable a more accurate and mechanistic calculation of the UK greenhouse gas inventory
  • Developing a structural modelling of sheep marketing and movements to calculate the costs and prevalence of routes to slaughter using livestock movement and vehicle data
  • Quantifying the environmental LCA of innovations in waste water treatment and the recycling of sludge to agriculture as a bio-fertiliser
  • Quantifying the environmental LCA of wetland biomass processed to biofuel briquettes
  • Calculating the environmental burdens of future national diets using LCA
  • Benchmarking the environmental efficiency of farms using DEA
  • Predicting land use change under biodiversity policy or climate change and adaptation policies using Farm Level LP.

Recent lecturing:

  • Linear Programming for Master’s students in environmental resource economic and landscape planning and ecology
  • Case studies in Life Cycle Assessment of organic waste processing and disposal/ recycling to land for environmental policy master’s students
  • Networks, Critical Path Analysis, GANNT charts and Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) for project management for air transportation master’s students.

Clients

Due to the fragmented nature of the agriculture sector with its many small businesses most research is publically funded through government departments, industry levy boards, science research councils, and European Union funded research.

  • MAFF
  • Defra
  • LINK
  • Environment Agency
  • EU Craft
  • EU FP7
  • RELU.

Publications

Articles In Journals

Conference Papers

  • Del Prado A, Pol-van Dasselaar A, Chadwick D, Misselbrook T, Sandars D, Audsley E & Mosquera-Losada MR (2014) Synergies between mitigation and adaptation to climate change in grassland-based farming systems.. In: EGF at 50: The Future of European Grasslands, 2014 , Aberystwyth, Wales, 7-11 September 2014.
  • Williams AG, Sandars DL & Audsley E (2007) Sustainability and environmental burdens of milk and beef production. In: British Cattle Conference, Weston-under-Redcliff, Shropshire, 22 January 2007.
  • Williams AG, Audsley E & Sandars DL (2007) Environmental burdens of livestock production systems derived from life cycle assessment. In: 41st University of Nottingham Feed Conference, Nottingham University, 4 September 2007.
  • Sandars DL, Cumby TR & Nigro E (2006) An environmental Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the centralised anaerobic digester at Holsworthy in North Devon (England). In: 12th RAMIRAN International Conference: Technology for recycling of manure and organic residues in a whole farm perspective, 1 January 2006.
  • Williams AG, Audsley E & Sandars DL (2006) Energy and environmental burdens of organic and non-organic agriculture and horticulture. In: What will organic farming deliver? COR 2006, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, 18 September 2006.
  • Sandars DL, Williams AG & Audsley E (2006) A model for calculating the environmental burdens of livestock production. In: Proceedings of the Second Meeting of the EURO Working group on Operational Research (OR) in Agriculture and Forest Management, Rekyavik, 3 July 2006.
  • Misselbrook T, Gilhesby S, Sandars DL, Williams AG, Burton C, Thorman R & Pinder R (2006) Comparison of models and measurements for whole-farm ammonia emissions. In: 12th RAMIRAN International conference: Technology for Recycling of Manure and Organic Residues in a Whole-Farm Perspective., Aarhus, Denmark, 11 September 2006.
  • Sandars DL, Williams AG & Audsley E (2006) Modelling the structural diversity and interactions of agriculture within a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework. In: 38th meeting of the agricultural modellers' group, The Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, 1 April 2006.
  • Williams AG, Sandars DL & Audsley E (2006) Energy use in agriculture. In: Soil Association Annual Conference, London, 6 January 2006.
  • Sandars DL, Williams AG & Audsley E (2005) Operational research applied to environmental sustainability: the application of the Life Cycle Assessment method to 10 agricultural commodities. In: Young OR 14, University of Bath, 4 April 2005.
  • Williams AG & Sandars DL (2004) Environmental effects of manure management in the context of whole farms. In: AgEng2004, Leuven, Belgium, 12 September 2004.
  • Williams AG, Sandars DL, Audsley E & Goulding KWT (2004) Regional environmental benchmarks of arable farming. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Sixth Meeting of the Agricultural Research Modellers' Group, Royal Society, London, 26 March 2004.
  • Williams AG, Sandars DL, Annetts JA, Audsley E, Goulding KWT & Day W (2003) A Framework to Analyse the Interactions of Whole Farms Farm Profits and Environmental Burdens. In: EFITA 2003 4th Conference of the European Federation for Information Technology in, Debrecen-Budapest, Hungary, 5 July 2003.
  • Williams AG, Sandars DL, Leech P, Audsley E & Goulding KWT (2003) Environmental burdens and profitability of whole farms. In: International Symposium on Gaseous and Odour Emissions from Animal Production Facilities, Horsens, Denmark, 1 June 2003.
  • Sandars DL, Williams AG & Audsley E (2002) A strategic whole-farm planning model including the nitrogen cycle. In: 34th meeting of the agricultural research modellers' group, The Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, 19 April 2002.
  • Sandars DL, Audsley E, Williams AG, Day W & Annetts JE (2002) Environmental Policy: Whole farm simulation - taking the environment into account. In: International Conference of Agricultural Engineering, Szent Istvan University, Budapest, Hungary, 30 June 2002.
  • Sandars DL, Audsley E, Williams AG, Day W & Annetts JE (2002) Farm waste management: whole farm simulation: taking the environment into account. In: The 7th European Biosolids Organic Residual Conference and Exhibition, Cedar Court Hotel, Wakefield, UK, 17 November 2002.
  • Sandars DL, Audsley E, Canete C, Scotford IM, Cumby TR & Williams AG (2001) Using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to enable farmers to find Best Available Techniques (BAT) and comply with Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control (IPPC) directive. In: International Conference: LCA in Foods, SIK, Gýteborg, Sweden, 26 April 2001.
  • Sandars DL & Audsley E Biodiversity and Agricultural Production Planning by LP. In: EURO XXII, Prague, Czech Republic.
  • Sandars DL & Audsley E The financially rational provision of over-winter stubbles on UK arable farms to promote farmland birds. In: ESI2009: EURO Summer Institute 2009 (OR in Agriculture and Forest Management), University of Lleida, 25 July 2009.

Books

  • Cumby TR, Sandars DL & Nigro E (2005) The Environmental Impacts of Farm Scale Anaerobic Digestion of Livestock Manure. In: Air Pollution Control: A Guide to Products and Services from the UK, Joint Environmental Marketing Unit (JEMU), UK Department of Trade and Industry, p. 40-42.