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Author |
John Torode President of the Royal Agricultural Society of England 2008/2009
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Editorial
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Alan Spedding |
Viewpoint Food and Environmental Security: why, what, and how?
Abstract:
The world food system faces the extraordinary twin challenge of repeating the performance of the last half century of more than doubling food production during the next four decades and yet doing so with far smaller environmental impact. These food and environmental challenges are highly interrelated, and they are heightened by Climate Change. The paper argues that given its economic and political size these global matters are of concern to the EU. Furthermore food and environment have been, and should remain EU competences. It is therefore suggested that the CAP must further evolve to a policy for Food and Environmental Security with a budget adequate to the scale of the task faced. What th... |
Allan Buckwell |
Case study “From polarisation to blur…” Rural estates are stepping up to define 21st century land management
Abstract:
Progressive rural estates with scale and scope are well placed to contribute positively to the agendas of the future, a future which is likely to be volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous and certainly far more exciting than the recent past. Debates about climate change, energy and food security are changing perceptions as to the value of land and how it is managed. For those providing public goods the opportunity is to better quantify what is provided and to gain recognition and a fair return for their delivery. The objective is to demonstrate that rural estates have a critical part to play in the achievement of both public policy and market ambitions. In short, their time has come again. |
John Varley |
Case study Bledisloe and Elveden – 50 Years On
Abstract:
The first Bledisloe Gold Medal for landowners was awarded 50 years ago this year to the 2nd Earl of Iveagh for his pioneering work on his estate at Elveden and for his wider influence on British Agriculture. This article charts how the estate has continued to be an exemplar of farming, conservation and rural business as it has developed in response to changing markets and changing national needs. |
Lindsay Hargreaves |
Case Study Farming in the High Peak: Upper Booth Farm
Abstract:
Upper Booth is a family operated upland farm in the heart of the Peak District. The land is farmed without artificial fertilisers and stocked to its natural capacity. Hill sheep are the predominant enterprise with a herd of Belted Galloway cattle to complement sheep grazing and help improve habitats for snipe and curlew and create diversity of plant species. Income from farming is supplemented by a campsite and local farm produce is sold and visitors are encouraged to take an interest in the farm. Robert Helliwell sees the future as focussing on quality meat production and selling breeding stock but argues that upland farmers should be better supported as the most cost effective way of manag... |
R A Helliwell |
Viewpoint A new vision for UK agricultural research and development
Abstract:
The continuing decline in agricultural R&D is reducing the competitiveness of the UK agricultural industry and putting food security at risk. A new vision is urgently required to develop innovative agricultural systems that are competitive, which reduce reliance on food imports but which also deliver the required environmental benefits. |
David Leaver |
Research and development Animal disease epidemics: prevention is better than cure
Abstract:
The first eight years of the 21st century have seen Classical Swine Fever, Foot and Mouth Disease, Avian influenza, Newcastle Disease, Bluetongue and other infections cause outbreaks in farmed animals in the UK. National and international rules are designed to combat infections and it is reasonable to expect they will reduce the consequences of outbreaks of new and emerging disease. But there is no such thing as zero risk: the consequence of recent outbreaks have been costly and damaging to farmers, the countryside and the economy. The globalization of trade in a ‘global supermarket’ will result in an ongoing threat, whilst vector borne viruses pose a serious challenge. Surveillance, biosecu... |
Debby Reynolds, Katharina Stär |
Research and development TB, Cattle and Badgers
Abstract:
The rising incidence of cattle TB is causing great consternation. Badgers have long been known to be a source of infection, but the effectiveness of culling as part of TB control strategy has always been unclear. The recently completed Randomised Badger Culling Trial provides the only scientifically credible information upon which to formulate and evaluate potential culling policies. It has shown that localised (‘reactive’) culling in response to a herd breakdown is counterproductive. ‘Proactive’ culling over a large (25,000+ acres) geographical area can significantly reduce cattle TB incidence, but because of badger perturbation it induces a rise in breakdowns on farms neighbouring the cull... |
John McInerney |
Viewpoint Future water
Abstract:
Nothing is more important for our survival than water and nothing is more directly affected by global warming. The combined effects of higher tides, more extreme weather, and river flooding threaten more and more homes, businesses, and farm land. Yet, when the growing world food crisis should demand that we protect every acre of agricultural land Government policy is to endanger thousands of hectares through ‘managed retreat’. Conflict over water resources is growing throughout the world and almost everywhere there is growing tension between town and country as industry and domestic pressures vie with the needs of agriculture. Unless we lessen the demand from the urban areas there will be re... |
John Gummer |
Viewpoint The future engagement of soil science in agriculture
Abstract:
Soil science has its foundations in the support of agriculture. The production of food and timber is always the first soil function listed. However research is driven by policy priorities. The last three decades have witnessed a strong shift from food security to protection of the environment, in particular, water quality. Soil science has increasingly become a branch of the natural and environmental sciences. A new generation of pressures on our land resource is now emerging. A rapidly rising World population, growth in, the emerging economies and the steady depletion of the planet's natural resources including fossil fuels and productive land imply that an agricultural focus for soil scien... |
Dick Thompson |
Viewpoint The current status of soil and water management in England
Abstract:
Soil and water management face challenges with a much depleted professional body of specialists. The career structure for new entrants is poorly defined, and this discourages entry. A small cohort of professionals is needed mentored by those (now mostly retired) with a proven field record. The prime requirement is to use and develop the considerable store of fundamental research information available with future emphasis on applied research and development. Defra and other bodies need to be alerted to the problem and encouraged to move from its current largely environmental policy to one which embraces production within an environmental framework. The RASE, working with other parties, should... |
Richard Godwin, Gordon Spoor, Brian Finney, Mike Hann, Bryan Davies |
Research and development The Impact of Developments in Genetics and Genomics on Livestock Breeding and Animal Health
Abstract:
The characteristics of farmed animals have changed greatly since domestication. Most of those changes are consequences of selective breeding. The basic principles remain unchanged, but we have become more sophisticated in how the best animals are identified. Modern quantitative genetic tools have delivered substantial improvements in animal productivity. As those tools are increasingly supplemented by molecular genetic (DNA) tests, the degree of control that animal breeders can exert will increase; enabling improvement of a wider range of traits. High-throughput DNA analysis tools have the potential to revolutionise the way livestock breeding is done. In addition, growing knowledge of the ge... |
Chris Warkup |
Viewpoint Dairy Cow Genetics: What do we really, really want?
Abstract:
What we really want from genetic selection for the dairy industry is a better cow. This would be a simple aim, and achievable (since it is a truism of genetics that you get what you select for), if we could only agree on what we mean by better. For commercial farmers and breeders the better cow is more profitable. For many years and for many people the word profit was considered synonymous with productivity (milk yield per lactation). For the concerned consumer (and the herdsman) the better cow may be viewed as one more likely to be “fit and happy” (i.e. sustain a state and sense of wellbeing); a view with which the cows themselves might reasonably be expected to concur. |
John Webster |
Research and development Return to hardy cattle breeds in the uplands – is it economically sustainable?
Abstract:
Upland limestone grassland areas in the Yorkshire Dales have traditionally been maintained through mixed livestock farming systems, including hardy upland cattle breeds. The recent move to specialised sheep enterprises, modern commercial cattle breeds and increased stocking rates has had a detrimental impact on the conservation status of these areas. The Limestone Country Project aimed to encourage farmers to reintroduce mixed farming using hardy cattle breeds to restore this grassland habitat to a favourable condition. The research analysed the economic impact of the project on participating farms. Modelling a number of scenarios based on livestock numbers and prices, the results showed tha... |
Jane Mills |
Case Study Sustainability in the Pig Industry
Abstract:
In recent years the pig industry has invested more than £200,000 in the development of its Skills Strategy – “From Sustainability to Sustained Ability”, recognising that a skilled, proficient and dynamic workforce is vital for its competitive and sustainable future in an industry facing increased costs of production, environmental legislation and staff recruitment and retention problems. This programme of skills development via flexible, appropriate learning opportunities to engage staff will address many of these issues and improve industry competitiveness. |
Richard Longthorp, T Howe |
Viewpoint - offered paper Grazing livestock and greenhouse gases in the UK
Abstract:
Livestock have been identified as significant contributors to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), and policies adopted by some authorities have discriminated against them for this reason as the UK seeks to meet the targets of the Kyoto Agreement. Analysis of available data shows that, while some livestock production systems can be implicated, grazing livestock in the UK on non-intensive systems of production make a negligible contribution to GHG emissions. On the contrary, native breeds of livestock contribute positively to society in many ways. Their local adaptation is realised beneficially on pastureland which sequesters carbon and in conservation grazing where there are associated be... |
Lawrence Alderson |
Research and development – offered paper Changing European rural training and advisory services for economic development
Abstract:
Emerging approaches to knowledge transfer across Europe are diverse. Improved knowledge transfer offers one way to mitigate some of the adverse impacts of globalisation, enabling nations to exploit their intellectual property commercially. This paper draws on research conducted by a consortium of fifteen institutions from the New Member States (NMS), Candidate Countries (CC) and countries of the Western Balkans under the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) of the European Union.3 The paper considers the level of farmers’ technical education and skills in relation to likely future needs; the nature, availability and accessibility of extension services, in both the public and private sectors; and ... |
E. John Wibberley and Martin M. Turner |
Research and development – offered article Horsiculture and Planning
Abstract:
Keeping horses for leisure purposes, otherwise known in planning circles as ‘horsiculture’, has been widely documented in professional planning literature as a land use that creates detrimental impacts on the visual and environmental quality of the landscape. However, equestrianism, as a wider recreational, educational and social activity, is increasing in popularity in the UK and the use of land for horses is encouraged and supported by National Planning Policy. Research has uncovered conflicts, discrepancies and confusion between planning policy and practice and the requirements of the equestrian sector, with limited means of reconciling the identified issues. This paper explores these iss... |
Beatrice Haigh |
Offered viewpoint article The State of Agriculture in the United Kingdom – a retrospective reflection on the 1991 report to the Society
Abstract:
A wide ranging report on the state of agriculture in the United Kingdom, published by the Society in November 1991, expressed concern about the ability of agriculture to compete for resources and queried whether the balance of policy was not moving too far towards addressing the environment. This reflection comments on some of the issues facing contemporary agriculture including amongst others population growth, the policy process and communication, before postulating that from the policy process under way may arise a new paradigm which redefines cultural perceptions of consumption and growth. |
George Jackson, incorporating comments and contributions from Lord Barber of Tewkesbury and Sir John Marsh |
Review of the Year, October 2007 – November 2008
Abstract:
At a time of continuing change within the agricultural sector, this article highlights some of the main issues that have affected farming and the food industry over the past fourteen months. |
Richard King, BSc (Hons), MRICS, FAAV, & Gemma Bell |
OBITUARY Dr John Moffitt, CBE
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Mike Keeble |
OBITUARY Professor Alasdair Steele-Bodger, CBE
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George Jackson |
OBITUARY WJS (Jim) Hosking, FRAgS
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OBITUARY MHR (Mike) Soper, OBE, MA, Hon FCGI, FRAgS, FRASE
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Malcolm Stansfield. |
Main Prize Winners at the 2008 Royal Show
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The Royal Agricultural Society of England
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