Nikki Yoxall
I’m a first-generation farmer, researcher and educator based in north-east Scotland. After a career in teaching and educational leadership, I came to farming in my 30s, drawn by a fascination with how people and landscapes adapt to change. I now co-manage an upland suckler herd in the Angus Glens, collaborating to create an integrated land use model where productive livestock farming, nature recovery and traditional sporting interests work hand in hand.
As Technical Director at Pasture for Life, I lead research and knowledge exchange programmes that connect farmers, researchers and policymakers across the UK. My work focuses on turning evidence into practical action, helping farmers build resilient, context-specific systems that care for animals, people and the land.
My teaching background underpins everything I do: I’m passionate about learning, collaboration and creating spaces where ideas turn into practice. I’m particularly interested in how farmers make decisions under pressure, adapt to uncertainty, and innovate within their own contexts.
Through my Nuffield journey, I hope to connect with farmers and land managers around the world who are developing creative responses to climate volatility, and to bring home insights, tools and inspiration that help UK farmers thrive in a changing environment.
Designing Climate-Adapted Livestock Systems: Managing for a Future of Extremes
McDonald’s UK & Ireland
Study Overview
Climate volatility is no longer a distant threat, it’s already transforming how we farm. From droughts and floods to erratic forage growth, livestock producers are being forced to adapt faster than ever. My study explores how we can design livestock systems that not only survive these extremes but thrive within them, without compromising animal welfare, profitability or ecological integrity.Drawing on my own experience managing a pasture-fed livestock system in north-east Scotland and supporting farmers across the UK, I’m investigating how adaptive strategies work in practice. This includes exploring grazing management for climate variability, resilient breed traits, shelter and agroforestry design, feed and water planning, and decision-making under uncertainty.I’m particularly interested in how farmers integrate multiple approaches, combining ecological understanding, practical innovation and flexibility, to create robust, context-specific systems. Beyond the technical, I also aim to understand the human side of adaptation: what motivates change, sustains resilience, and shapes confidence in the face of unpredictability.
Through conversations with farmers and land managers worldwide, my goal is to develop a practical framework and set of case studies that help others reimagine their systems, placing adaptation at the centre of ethical, regenerative, and climate-resilient livestock farming.