Activities

Abstract:
The changes that take place next year as a result of CAP reform represent a significant shift in agricultural policy. It is almost two years since the Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food was produced, identifying how the Government will work with stakeholders to secure a sustainable future for English farming and food industries. Success of the strategy is dependent upon culture change throughout the entire food chain. At this turning point, it is important to take stock of what has been achieved and to set out clearly the path ahead.

Abstract:
John Geldard manages a progressive Cumbrian family farming business based on traditional added value livestock enterprises and a free range egg unit. In the last five years his quest to reconnect the food chain has led to the establishment of a flourishing local sourcing initiative with four income streams: a farm shop, food park, food service and blueprint local sourcing initiative. John’s pioneering activities and shear enthusiasm to continually move closer to the market place during the last 15 years have strengthened the business to such a degree that today it is able to not only survive the current pressures on farm gate income and the potential impact of the Single Farm Payment (SFP), ...

Abstract:
The aim of this paper is to explore some of the more significant aspects of the transformation of Czech agriculture in the post communist period. Consideration is given to the economic and policy background, including the macroeconomic environment, land privatisation and agricultural policy reform. The economic performance of Czech agriculture over this period is then analysed, including the growth of organic agriculture. Finally, an attempt is made to assess the potential benefits of European Union membership, and it is suggested that these may not be as significant as some advocate.

Abstract:
The radical changes taking place in agricultural policy bring challenge and opportunity. National Parks are a natural arena for reconnecting agriculture to the market but to achieve their potential will be an exacting task for all involved. This paper looks at the ways in which the National Parks can be more active in helping farmers to adapt to the changing policies governing land use from the EU and the UK government. It stresses the need for government, regional and other agencies and farmers to work together to optimise the various sources of support available to help facilitate changes in farming and other aspects of land use within National Parks. The discussion is set in the context o...

Abstract:
This paper examines two phases of agricultural change in the West Midlands region since 1950. Based on agricultural census data, the region’s experience of agricultural restructuring between 1950 and 1970 is consistent with the ‘productivist’ trend of fewer, larger, more intensive and specialised farms. Thus, while nearly 15,500 farms disappeared, there was a 57% growth in farms of over 120 hectares in size. Between 1990 and 2002, this was reversed and, while the number of medium-sized and large farms declined, there was a significant growth (over 200%) in very small farms. Although mirroring national trends of a decline in dairy and mixed farming since 1990, the West Midlands region went ag...

Abstract:
The UK dairy farming sector is going through a period of rapid and dramatic structural change due largely to the milk market being deregulated in 1994 after some 60 years and continuing reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. This paper examines these changes, highlights some of the current issues, notably low milk price, and assesses the future shape and size of the dairy industry in the next ten years. The importance of a sustainable and profitable dairy supply chain is highlighted.

Abstract:
The nitrogen cycle is essentially ‘leaky’. Small amounts of nitrate must leach into waters, and ammonia and nitrous oxide be emitted to the atmosphere to maintain natural ecosystems. However, in many parts of the world, intensive agricultural production has contributed, with industry and vehicle use, to the global doubling of 'reactive' nitrogen (N) in the environment, resulting in eutrophication (nutrient enrichment), ecosystem change and health concerns. This has resulted in increased pressures on farmers to reduce those losses, including legislation such as the EU Nitrate Limit of 50 mg l-1, the reductions in ammonia and nitrous oxide emissions required by the UNECE Convention on long-...

Abstract:
Peter Darby describes how new methods of hop production, particularly the development of dwarf varieties, can address the needs of the English hop industry to reduce labour requirements, reduce environmental impact and retain a competitive position in world trade.

Abstract:
In 2003, The Duke of Westminster was awarded the Bledisloe Gold Medal for Landowners. The 11,500 acre Eaton Estate near Chester includes the family home, Eaton Hall, its gardens and park as well as the 6,500 acre Grosvenor Farms; Cogent Breeding Ltd, an innovative bull proving venture and a successful garden centre. The Grosvenor Estate’s long-term approach is apparent throughout, seeking to maintain a balance between commercial, environmental and community needs.

Abstract:
This paper considers the topic of animal welfare – usually associated with ethics and moral values, or with veterinary science and ethology – from the standpoint of economics and social choice. The economic value of farm animals to society is dominated by their productivity in food production, but their welfare can be perceived as having an independent element of value in itself. The paper sets out a simple model of the inherent conflict between animal welfare and livestock productivity - essentially a conflict between the animals’ benefit and human benefit. The financial costs of improved animal welfare standards, most appropriately reflected in their effect on final food prices, are rel...

Abstract:
This paper explores the social dimension in the way sustainability ideas have been developed in English agriculture. It suggests that social characteristics and values have been systematically neglected in the promotion of sustainable agriculture in England, and that this has grave consequences for those who make their living from the land. The reasons for this, in terms of Britain’s agrarian history, are explored. Examples of the neglect are provided from the MAFF’s sustainable agriculture indicators and the Curry Commission on Sustainable Farming and Food. The paper concludes with an examination of how the new emphasis on place in agriculture offers some hope for a reinstatement of a soci...

Abstract:
One of the main purposes of the exhibition ‘Love, Labour & Loss’, shown in Carlisle and Exeter in 2002/3, was to draw together some of the artistic, agricultural and social themes from the past and show how they become interwoven in the twentieth century. More particularly, it explored how our changing sentiments towards the countryside and animals have been focused by both art and culture, and how these now conflict with the pressures that contemporary life puts upon them - pressures and practices that triggered and exacerbated the tragedy of foot and mouth. This paper largely draws upon essays by myself and valued colleagues included in the ‘Love, Labour & Loss’ catalogue and from a final ...

Abstract:
The enthusiasm and drive of a Victorian farmer was responsible not only for saving hundreds of elderly farmers from destitution but also of establishing the charity which currently provides support for over 1,600 retired and disabled members of the farming community. Like the industry it serves, RABI has changed dramatically over the past decade, helping thousands of working farming families through BSE and foot and mouth. Now, with a growing number farmers leaving the industry, many with insufficient funds to support them in retirement, RABI faces a new challenge, that of ensuring it has sufficient funds to meet its future commitments.

Abstract:
The Rural Stress Information Network (RSIN) was established in 1996 as a result of concern from public and private agricultural sector agencies about the number of suicides in the farming industry. RSIN runs a Helpline for rural people in distress and an information service which deals with queries from as far afield as Canada and Australia. Working closely with a range of partner charities and agencies, a small team of officers helps to initiate and support local initiatives across England and Wales. A key part of RSIN’s work is raising the issue of the causes and exacerbators of stress within a rural context and influencing government and policy makers at a national, regional and local le...

Abstract:
The UK pig industry has changed significantly over the last five years and continues to be in a state of economic flux. Part of the reason for this is that many of the parties involved fail to collaborate in production, marketing and communicating with the consumer. The objective of the following report is to identify the causes of current economic difficulties, the key players involved, a basis for improvement, how appropriate it may be for implementation and if so, the method of implementation. The study involves UK-based research and overseas travel to Japan, Hawaii, Canada and the United States. Specific areas of interest are investigated in each country or state. Japan – supply chain ...

Abstract:
Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) was established to help young people learn more about food and farming in a sustainable countryside. It is a national organisation with regional educational co-ordinators. FACE works in partnership with approximately fifty members to provide quality curriculum resources, promote educational visits to the countryside and undertake research.