Activities

Abstract:
As usual, there has been no shortage of news in the agricultural sector over the last 12 months. This article highlights some of the main issues.

Abstract:
There is growing concern that the effectiveness of antimicrobials is being compromised because of a build-up of resistance in human pathogens. It is sensible, therefore, to limit the usage in human medicine and in animal production as much as possible. This paper compares the usage with farm animals in countries for which information is available. Results show that the strategies adopted in Sweden and Denmark have been successful in restricting antimicrobial usage very substantially.

Abstract:
The development of fertilizers and their use since nitrogen fertilizer was first manufactured using hydro electric power in 1905 is described. Development of granulation and prilling were major milestones which opened the door to the environmentally-friendly high-precision application we see today. The article charts the huge developments which have taken place in agriculture over the period and finishes with the results of a survey which asked which 10 things had changed farming the most. Includes fertilizers, mobile phones and the wellington boot!

Abstract:
The Chillingham herd of white cattle is briefly described, and the recent endeavours by the owners, the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association, to secure its future are reviewed. With generous support from individual donors and from charitable trusts, biosecurity is being enhanced and access for members of the public improved. As a result, the Association is now concerned with much broader issues than those which have faced it in the past, and which mainly related to practical issues of husbandry and pasture management. As conservation measures are now being directed towards the cultural heritage and general faunal and floral biodiversity of Chillingham as well as towards the cattle themselves,...

Abstract:
This paper suggests that the impact of global agri-economics is leading to a situation whereby family farms within the UK are struggling to survive, but where its members demonstrate physical, emotional and cultural attachment to their perceived ‘way of life’. However, drawing on ethnographic work from the English/Welsh border the paper considers the undervalued work that women are increasingly engaging in to support their male partners emotionally and the farm-business economically. The time has come, the paper suggests, to reveal the impact of women subsidizing family farming by replacing paid farm labour and by engaging in increasingly time-consuming and psychologically and physiologicall...

Abstract:
Economic and environmental pressures are forcing farmers to consider how technology can help them to reduce their inputs, particularly agrochemicals. Recent research in computer vision, coupled with the availability of low cost computers and digital video cameras has made it possible to accurately locate crop rows with robust affordable equipment. This technology is now being marketed by Garford Farm Machinery under the name Robocrop for the purpose of guiding inter-row cultivators, thereby reducing dependence on herbicides. As research and commercial developments are continuing we can expect the scope of applications and technical capability to grow in coming years. Precision targeting of a...

Abstract:
The role of the farmer in Europe is changing, as farmers have to develop new skills to be competitive. In a word, they need to become more entrepreneurial. Many of the skills associated with running a successful business are not necessarily skills that the farmer has. The paper presents a number of models, delineating these skills and provides initial definitions of farm entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial skills. Suggests that farmers do not systematically access Business Advice networks and that they are less likely to access opportunities because of limited business networks and feel farming is ‘different’. Also proposes that farmers do not systematically engage in continual professional...

Abstract:
An overview commentary on the influences shaping farming and the countryside today, in contrast to the relatively direct relationship which farming enjoyed with Government when the author entered the industry 50 years ago. Then, the goal was one of production with the import saving role of farming at the fore in contrast to the plurality of goals and pressures on farming today. It concludes that opportunities still exist to grow family businesses but that a different mind set is needed to show the way forward. The strength of the industry still lies in its social capital.

Abstract:
Rural vitality is a comprehensive term being used to aggregate the economic, environmental and social factors which go to make a dynamic, sustainable countryside. Growing displacement and disconnection are key rural and agricultural concerns. Farming integrates the delivery of rural vitality in practice. Thus, a viable agriculture with local food and locally-determined farm environmental management is crucial. This paper argues that the large rural population and rich diversity of the enlarging EU and candidate countries should be enabled by the right policy signals and protocols rather than undue administrative interference. More mutual sharing between countries of locally successful integr...

Abstract:
Last year was of particular significance to the Harris family, the owners of the Brackenburgh Estate in Cumbria. It represented a century of continuous service on the Council of the RASE and the award of the Bledisloe Gold Medal for Landowners, in recognition of the current and historic management of this 5,400 acre rural Estate. John Harris, the current owner and RASE Council member, looks back over the last century since the heyday of land ownership when his Great Grandfather was managing the Estate and first joined the Council of the RASE.

Abstract:
When the Government's Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food in England was developed and launched in 2002 one of the gaps identified by the report’s author, Sir Don Curry, was the sustainability of the people. The workforce itself – both farmers and employed staff as well as those required to fill mounting vacancies in ancillary sectors – was ageing and there seemed little incentive to new entrants to join an industry that was suffering poor public perception on the back of a decade of disease scares, constant political upheaval and falling commodity prices. Fresh Start was launched in autumn 2004 to focus attention on the need for new entrants, on the routes available for entry and to h...

Abstract:
A diary kept religiously for 55 years and a unique photographic record enable John Moffitt to tell the story of his lifetime in cattle breeding. Arguably he has had a bigger impact than anyone on how our black and white cattle look today. Breeding, he says, is not so much a gift or an art but a dedication run by a family team with few distractions. His story follows the development of the famous Hunday herd which was set up in the early 1930s. It progresses through line breeding starting with Dutch bloodlines, years of show ring success, involvement with artificial insemination, progeny testing, the introduction of Canadian Holstein blood and embryo transfer and what he calls his distraction...

Abstract:
Crop production in the UK over the last decade has been driven by changing political agendas as well as the effects of global supply and demand. The decoupling of support has added an entirely new dimension to the sector bringing both freedom of cropping and increasing exposure to price volatility. While historically arable producers have at times defied rational economics in their decision making, the future will demand a clear objective business strategy encompassing all the latest technology and risk management tools available. Climate change and the increasing requirements for renewable energy supplies will create future debate as to whether arable producers should be focusing on food o...

Abstract:
Founded in 1966, CAMBAC pioneered a co-operative approach to pig meat production and marketing that looked past weekly financial exigency to a more fruitful interplay between business partners that was honest, and of equal benefit to all. CAMBAC marketed themselves as reliable sellers, focussing on producing a bespoke product for the retailer. This concept was new in 1966 and not widely understood, or adopted. CAMBAC’s successes bear many similarities to what the Curry Report sets out as desirable practice, just as its ultimate failure corresponds with what the Curry Report defines as undesirable.

Abstract:
Care Farms run health, education and social welfare initiatives for people with a range of needs. They have the potential for lasting improvements in all these areas by bringing them into contact with nature, the land and farming. Hard facts are needed about their efficacy before funders will get actively interested and the National Care Farm Network (UK) has been established to increase the profile of initiatives, exchange best practice amongst practitioners and further promote the concept of Care Farming in the UK.

Abstract:
The Royal Agricultural Society of England was at the forefront of agricultural development during the second half of the 1800’s and has remained so as we enter the 21st century. This article identifies the ways in which its innovative policies led the way during periods of intense activity. It concludes with a vision as to its future at a time when the industry is going through a period of radical change.

Abstract:
This paper suggests that the farming industry requires a new way of working, new partnerships and a new sense of purpose and that a “Centre of Rural Excellence” based at Stoneleigh Park, home of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, can make a major contribution to this process. Such a Centre would become a catalyst for development, a focus for collaboration and partnership and an effective conduit for communication at regional, national and international level.