Lizzie Sagoo

"The ORC team have an impressive track record of applied research and knowledge exchange to support farmers to move to more naturally health, resilient farming systems."

Job title:

Head of Organic Research Centre

Academic qualifications:

BSc (Hons) Geography: University of Leeds
PhD ‘Nutrient Dynamics and Growth at a Coppice Biofuel Site’: University of Leeds

Role and responsibilities:

I am Associate Managing Director of the ADAS Sustainable Agricultural Systems Business and Head of the Organic Research Centre (part of ADAS).
My role in ORC is to provide strategic, financial and operational leadership including delivery of the business strategy as well as working to enhance the awareness of the Centre and its impact, across the industry.

Research interests:

I am a soil scientist by training, with specialist knowledge of soil and nutrient management and diffuse pollution of air and water from agricultural systems. I have worked on several applied research projects in the areas soil & nutrient management, manging manures, reducing diffuse pollution from agriculture and the development of practical farmer decision support tools. I currently lead the Defra funded project ‘Understanding rotational ‘mob’ grazing: Impacts, benefits and trade-offs’ (2021-2026).

Interests outside of ORC:

I am President Elect and Trustee of the British Society of Soil Science, and sit on the Society’s Outreach, Grants & Awards, and Publications committees.

I am a STEM ambassador, a Country Trust ‘Soil champion’ and a ‘Form the Future’ volunteer ambassador, and each year I deliver a number of soil science STEM sessions in primary and secondary schools, and support several community outreach events, including Open Farm Sunday.

Publications:

Conference papers

Sagoo, E., Dowers, J., Smith, K., Nicholson, F., Bhogal, A., Williams, J.R., and Newell Price, J.P. (2023). Mob grazing: Impacts, benefits and trade offs. Proceedings of the EGF Symposium ‘The future role of ley-farming in cropping systems’.

Sagoo, E et al. (2019) Establishment of a farm network to investigate the long term impacts of leys in rotations. In Huguenin-Elie et al (Eds) Proceedings of the EGF-EUCARPIA-Symposium ‘Improving Sown Grasslands through Breeding and Management’. pp 541

Sagoo, E., Nicholson, F. and Williams, J.R. (2016). Improved manure management – from research results to implementation on farm. Invited key note presentation. Proceedings of the 19th Nitrogen Workshop, Skara, Sweden 27-29 June 2016.

Best practice guidance

Guidelines for managing outdoor straw pads for beef cattle. AHDB Better Returns Programme Bulletin.

Soil Management for Horticulture. AHDB GreatSoils guide.

Journal papers

Longchamps, L., Tisseyre, B., Taylor, J., Sagoo, E., Momin, A., Fountas, S., Manfrini, L., Ampatzidis, Y., Schuller, J.K. and Khosla, R. (2022). Yield sensing technologies for perennial and annual horticultural crops: a review. Precision Agriculture, 23: 2407-2448

Nicholson, F.A., Bhogal, A., Chadwick, D., Gill, E., Gooday, R.D., Lord, E., Misselbrook, T., Rollet, A.J., Sagoo, E., Smith, K.A., Thorman, R.E., Williams, J.R. and Chambers, B.J., (2013). An enhanced software tool to support better use of manure nutrients: MANNER-NPK. Soil Use and Management 29 (4): 473-484

Sagoo, E. et al. (2007) Integrated management practices to minimise losses and maximise crop nitrogen value of broiler litter. Biosystems Engineering 97 (4): 512-519.

Book chapters

Sagoo, E and Newell Price, P (2025). Precision management of crop nutrition. In Newell Price et al Precision Agriculture in Field Horticulture: The Potential for Agri-technology to Facilitate Innovation and Promote Value in Outdoor Fruit and Vegetable Production.

Newell Price, P, Breure, T.S., Sagoo, E. and Hannam J. (2025) Soil Sensing and Sampling. In Newell Price et al Precision Agriculture in Field Horticulture: The Potential for Agri-technology to Facilitate Innovation and Promote Value in Outdoor Fruit and Vegetable Production.

Kalia, P., Jones, H. and Sagoo, E. (2024). The science of soil: Soil health, carbon sequestration and the environment. In Foster et al. Six Inches of soil: How to heal our soils, ourselves, and our communities through regenerative farming.

Blogs