The Rural Business School Newsletter - Spring 2017

The Rural Business School ISSUE 54 - SPRING 2017

Healthy silage Brexit implications Leadership courses Wool in society Cirl Buntings

Advice Days:

Bicton - 22nd April Duchy - 24-25th June

Is your enterprise Brexit-proof?

Editorial

“There is a definite appetite in Defra to encourage new entrants to farming”

As this goes to press, Theresa May’s letter to trigger ‘Article 50’ and ‘Brexit’ is in a Eurostar train on its way to the President of the European Council severing a 44-year relationship, which has existed for all, or most of our readers’ lives. This will begin a two-year process of negotiation, the outcome of which is likely to have serious consequences on the UK farming sector; this is particularly important in the south west, where the latest data indicate that the Basic Payment Scheme provided 67% of profit (farm business income) in 2015/16 (page 13). In our last issue we outlined the main concerns to farming resulting from Brexit around the reduction in direct subsidies, availability of EU-labour, trade and tariffs, and the possibility of the sacrifice of agriculture as a pawn in the larger picture. Nevertheless, I make no apology for dedicating another issue to the factual analysis of our current farming systems and their relationship with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

We have invited contributions from specialists, both our own colleagues in the Farm Business Survey team and at the University of Exeter; Sally Thompson outlines how dependent UK food production is on the EU (page 10), Gregory MacQueen looks at the production costs of wheat (page13) and Keith Howe on the implications of Brexit for UK farm policy.

Director: Richard Soffe FRAgS page 2 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

Costings details can be found in the recently published 2017 SW Farm Business Management Digest (page 29).

There has certainly been no mention by politicians that direct subsidies will continue after 2020, when it is assumed that the new ‘Domestic Agricultural Policy’ (DAP) will replace CAP as far as UK farming is concerned. Within the farming industry, commentators vary in their views between those who will carry on running their businesses as now until there is more certainty over DAP (page 3), those who are determined to make their businesses more resilient to risks of price volatility and the removal of subsidies, and those who are adding value (pages 22, 25). Whichever route is to be taken, the College has a relevant course in place.

There is a definite appetite in Defra to encourage new entrants to farming as evidenced by the invitation to Duchy degree students, past and present, to advise the Minister on DAP (page 31). The College is also keen to encourage innovation and has linked up with the Worshipful Company of Farmers for a new high level Leadership and Management Programme (LAMP) aimed at those embarking on their careers (page 16).

We, of course, still run the respected Challenge of Rural Leadership for those with more experience (page 17). Our degrees in agriculture are respected

0845 458 7485

for their direct contact with the industry (page 15). Another option for those working in the industry with management aspirations, the popular Level 4 Diploma with its day-release format, may fit (page 20). For those with less time, the AHDB workshops and webinars to encourage livestock producers to plan for managing risk may be more suitable (page 39).

We have not excluded technical issues, however, particularly in the spring when planning for silagemaking (page 4), parasite control in sheep (page 27) and optimal utilisation of manures and slurries (page 30) all move up the priority list. We are made aware by several readers that we tend to neglect our arable sector, so in this issue, the ‘News’ (page 29) is dedicated to arable topics and there is a chance to speak to arable specialists at the Variety Open Day to be held at the College in conjunction with AHDB Cereals and Oilseeds (page 30). Perhaps the best advisors on managing cereal crops would be our degree student team members, who won the national NIAB trophy (page 18)!

Let’s hope that the challenges posed by Brexit can be overcome and the new opportunities exploited with all the innovations available to produce a sustainable south west farming sector.

Paul Ward

www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk

CQLP DEADWEIGHT REPORT: Cattle: Currently the balance of supply and demand is keeping prices offered for prime cattle and cull cows relatively steady. The cow trade continues to benefit from the pound/euro exchange rate. France, however, a leading customer for this meat is increasing its domestic supply thus reducing import demand.

Organic prime cattle in short supply are realising strong returns, as are organic cull cows.

Lambs: With enough OSL satisfying demand the NSL trade has not lifted off yet to any degree. If the trade follows last year’s example, it will be towards the end of March when we see real demand from the processors. OSL have been realising a steady return for the last few weeks with organics realising a premium.

Sue Rowe, CQLP. 06-03-17 DAIRY: As the mornings and evenings become longer and a distinct change in the air, spring has arrived. Here at Treburthes, calving is gently coming along after a shaky start. An abortion, set of twins plus a couple of downer cows certainly didn’t make me feel the joys of spring. Things have settled down now, however, and cows are returning to the paddocks to start grazing again.

With good covers in front of them, I’m keen to get on with it. But patchy

weather and cold nights have made this year’s efforts a stop/start affair so far. With the best will in the world, there are unforeseen things out there that can scupper the best made plans.

Who would have thought that this time 12 months ago that we would be leaving the EU and Donald Trump would be US President?

That milk prices would have rallied as they did in the autumn? The effect of these events is unknown, despite various commentators saying this or that will happen; in truth, nobody knows.

I have as little idea of whether I can graze my cows in 48 hours’ time as they do about delivering policy in four years’ time.

Whatever happens will probably scupper any plans I might have made, so we’re going to carry on as before. I still have cows to milk and crops to grow. I am still producing a product our buyers want and are willing to pay for and am producing it as efficiently as possible.

Farming t’was ever thus wasn’t it?

Ross Symons, Truro. 0203-17 DAIRY: We are currently making our way around the grazing area rebuilding the paddock fencing following the clearing of them for the umbilical access over the winter. Having not

needed so many visits so far this winter, it seems as if Mother Nature is doing her usual catch up and we keep looking at all the long grass thinking we need to graze, but know if we turn-out, the sward will be trashed in no time. About half the herd did decide to let themselves out one lunch time - of course when there is no man around to help retrieve them from various corners, Cayley and I managed to coax them back into the yard (they weren’t that impressed with the soggy footing) and then spent the afternoon cleaning teats!! Simon will one day learn not to ask, “Everything OK?” when he returns from a meeting!

As for ‘free-range’ milk, I know our cows would not be impressed being turfed out in current driving rain & hail storms!

TB is causing another niggle after 6 months ‘clear’ we had two IR’s which automatically shuts us down having had confirmed cases in the past 3 years, let’s hope they go clear in 60 days. Must set to and finalise health/feed plans, find the chemical data sheets, ensure all records are legible and keep the steam cleaner working with farm assurance in 10 days, as well as preparing a cash flow for the bank manager before then.

Alison Ward, ST & AL Ward, Wadebridge. 05-03-17

Industry Comments

The state of farming in the south west - your views.

Here we list some of your comments on the current state of agriculture in the westcountry.

“I am still producing a product our buyers want and are willing to pay for, and am producing it as efficiently as possible. Farming t’was ever thus wasn’t it?”

For more information If you would like to share your views in a future issue, please contact Gemma Eales on 0845 458 7485 or email gc@duchy.ac.uk.

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 3

RBS News

Healthy Silage Event: Part 2

By Gemma Eales, Technical Specialist

Last autumn, the Bovmycotox project hosted an event for farmers and advisers at Duchy College, looking at healthy silage and bovine mycotoxicosis. In our last edition, we published an overview of the whole day, but here we detail the talk by Professor Mike Wilkinson from the University of Nottingham in full.

“...as well as being produced in reheated mouldy silage, mycotoxins can also be produced in the field, pre-harvest.”

Prof. Wilkinson explained that healthy silage has low levels of undesirable bacteria (Enterobacteria, Listeria and Clostridia), yeasts and moulds, mycotoxins, nitrate, amines and ammonia and aerobically spoiled material. Enterobacteria (coliforms), derive from soil, slurry and manure, and grow in the early stages of ensiling, when the pH is above 4.5. They act to reduce nitrates to nitrites, nitrous oxide and ammonia, and Escherichia coli 0157 can survive poorly fermented silage and cause acute diarrhoea and death. Even if the bacteria themselves don’t survive the ensiling process, remnants of the bacterial cell walls can cause haemorrhagic lesions and liver damage – a disease known as endotoxicosis.

Listeria is probably one of the better known bacterial silage contaminants and is found in soil. Listeria proliferates in wet silage, with a pH above 4.5, and in the presence of oxygen. The geometry of round bale silage means

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that 70% of the total volume of silage is within 20cm of the surface, and is thus susceptible to the entry of oxygen, which can allow for mould growth to occur.

Bale wrap is usually permeable to oxygen and this, together with wetter silage on the underside, creates ideal conditions for Listeria growth.

Mouldy silage is very indicative of the presence of Listeria, and should not be fed to livestock.

Professor Mike Wilkinson

Clostridia are responsible for the secondary fermentation of lactic acid into butyric acid, amines and ammonia. An environment in the silo or bale that is wet, with no oxygen and a pH of more than 4.5 is conducive to clostridial growth. They can reduce silage intake, with increased risk of clinical ketosis in cows in early lactation. Clostridia can contaminate milk and cause ‘secondary blowing’ of cheese, which destroys the product, with a huge financial impact. This issue is so

significant that in some key cheese producing areas of Europe, silage cannot be fed to cows where hard cheese is made or where cheese is made from unpasteurised milk. To reduce Clostridia contamination, grass should be mown in the dry and wilted well to remove excess water.

Silage containing dead carcasses can be contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism.

Prof. Wilkinson then went on to discuss yeasts and moulds.

Yeasts are dormant in the silo, due to the lack of oxygen and the low pH. However, when the silo or bale is opened up and the silage is exposed to oxygen again, the yeasts are revived and aerobic spoilage (rotting) ensues. This can then set off a succession of

events, including the proliferation of aerobic bacteria and moulds, an increase in temperature and a resulting loss of digestible nutrients. This cascade of events can also culminate in the production of mycotoxins and visible mould is a strong indicator of the presence of mycotoxins.

Prof. Wilkinson explained that as well as being produced in reheated mouldy silage, mycotoxins can also be produced in the field, preharvest. He reiterated the point that mycotoxicosis is difficult to diagnose, with signs including reductions in intake, production, immunity and fertility. Prof.

Wilkinson explained the differences in mycotoxins and highlighted that Deoxynivalenol (DON), which is the most common mycotoxin found in maize silage, is

the only mycotoxin to be detoxified in the rumen (Table 1).

The Hy-Sil Project was then described, which was a precursor to Bovmycotox, involving many of the same project partners. Hy-Sil studied 45 farms across the south west of England.

The project looked at a range of parameters, including average visible silage waste and average feed-out rates (metres/ week). Silages produced on the farms were tested for eight mycotoxins and a mould count was carried out. It was found that 90% of the maize silage samples and 71% of the total mixed ration (TMR) samples contained mycotoxins, with DON having the highest incidence (97% of positive samples) and was most prevalent, accounting for 83% of the total mycotoxin concentration

in maize silage and 63% of the total mycotoxin concentration of TMR samples. The next most significant mycotoxin was Zearalenone (ZON).

There was no relationship between the silage mould count and total mycotoxin concentration, suggesting that the mycotoxins might have been formed on the maize crop in the field pre-harvest.

These results were extremely interesting, as these 45 farms were well managed, with low visible silage wastage and weekly feed-out rates within the ideal target of 1-2m per week in winter.

These farms were doing things well, but were still experiencing high levels Table 1: Mycotoxins listed by originating fungal species. Table courtesy of Prof. Wilkinson.

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 5

of mycotoxins.

Levels of mycotoxins within the silage samples ranged from 0 to 7,111 µg/kg for DON (with an average of 603 µg/ kg) and from 0 to 3,901 µg/kg for ZON (with an average of 209 µg/kg).

This put 72% of maize silage samples in medium and high-risk categories for mycotoxicosis.

Concentrations of mycotoxins were lower in the TMR samples, with 69% of TMR samples in the zero to low risk categories.

Prof. Wilkinson went on to explain that physical damage to maize ears in the field can significantly increase the mycotoxin concentrations at harvest.

An experiment was carried out in the USA where maize ears were slashed with a knife 9 days prior to harvest and other ears were similarly damaged 27 days prior to harvest. The silage was tested after 95 days in the silo, and it was found that the silage produced from ears that had been damaged

the longest (27 days) had significantly higher mycotoxin concentrations than the silage produced from the ears that had only been damaged nine days pre-harvest. This silage in turn had higher levels of mycotoxins than the silage made from undamaged ears (Table 2). This has serious implications for farms where damage to maize plants by deer or badgers is a regular occurrence.

Prof. Wilkinson then warned of the dangers of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is visible as a reddish-brown gas escaping the silage clamp soon after ensiling. As NO2 is heavier than air, it creeps along the ground.

It poses a significant

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risk to health as when combined with water droplets, it produces nitric acid. If inhaled, it can cause breathing difficulties and lung damage, so the advice was clear, stay away.

Other unwanted contaminants of silage include amines and ammonia, which are linked to low silage intakes and the poor utilisation of nitrogen by the animal. They are produced by Enterobacteria and Clostridia (please see above), and are associated with wetter silages.

The talk then moved on to look at aerobic spoilage, which is

increased by delayed sealing (longer than 24 hours) and by oxygen ingress through the silo covering film during storage. Aerobic spoilage is also higher in silages with low densities (<200 kg DM/m3) and where there is a slow feed-out progression rate of less than 1 metre per week.

This is due to the fact that more of the face is exposed to air for longer where the feed-out progression rate is slow.

Prof. Wilkinson recommended the use of oxygen barrier film, which was originally developed by the food industry for packaging and is virtually impermeable to oxygen.

In trials of the film, it was found to reduce the loss of dry/organic matter in the top layer to 11.4% of crop ensiled, compared to 19.5% with standard Table 2: Resulting levels of mycotoxins in silage produced from undamaged maize ears, ears damaged 9 days pre-harvest and 27 days pre-harvest. Table courtesy of Prof. Wilkinson.

plastic. This represents a significant reduction in spoilage. Other trials showed a reduction in the percentage of inedible dry matter when using oxygen barrier film, from 10.7% with standard plastic, to only 2.96% inedible silage with the barrier film. There are additional benefits, including a reduction in the labour required to sort and discard spoiled silage and also a reduction in the likelihood of accidentally feeding inedible silage.

“If your silage making and feeding operations aren’t safe, nothing else matters”

Prof. Wilkinson listed some best practice guidelines for feeding silage, which included placing it in the trough as soon as possible after removing it from the silo and taking care to avoid putting any spoiled silage in the trough. You should aim to offer a little more than the animals are likely to eat, but troughs should be cleaned out daily before being re-filled. “It is also very important not to offer any rejected silage to other livestock, as it may be contaminated

with toxins and cause disease”, he said.

The importance of a good feed-out progression rate was reiterated with the example of a study in Germany of maize silage fed to goats. The study showed that the dry matter intake of the goats declined as the length of time the silage was exposed to air increased.

After it had been exposed to air for eight days, the dry matter intake of the goats was less than half of what it was for silage that had only been exposed to air for 0-2 days. “This is significant for clamps with wide faces”, said Prof.

Wilkinson. “If you take a block out each day and take a week to move across the whole clamp face, the area where the first block was removed has been exposed to air for eight days by the time you return to it”.

Prof. Wilkinson concluded his presentation with a brief discussion on silo safety, an area which is often overlooked. With many farms increasing herd sizes due to falling milk prices, it is often only cow accommodation and parlour size that are looked at in terms of infrastructure improvements. However, many silage clamps are old, too small and are consequently over-filled.

Many do not have a safety rail and there is a risk of falling on to concrete

when working on top of the clamp to discard spoiled silage or pulling back covering film.

Indeed, many injuries and some deaths have occurred from falling from silage clamps. Prof.

Wilkinson advised that when working on a silage clamp it is important to keep a safe distance from the feed face and the silo height should not exceed the reach of the unloading equipment,

as there is a danger of an avalanche. The silo should be well lit, and you should avoid working alone around silos. “Remember, almost all Health and Safety prosecutions result in convictions, with the average fine in 2014/15 being £25,000”, he warned. “If your silage making and feeding operations aren’t safe, nothing else matters”, he concluded.

For more information The Bovmycotox project is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and is a joint collaboration between academics at the Universities of Bristol and Nottingham, Imperial College London, Rothamsted Research and Duchy College, and industry partners, Mole Valley Farmers, Micron Bio-Systems and AB Vista. The long-term aim of the project is to develop a rapid diagnostic tool for bovine mycotoxicosis.

For more information on the Bovmycotox project, please visit the project website www.bovmycotox. co.uk, call 0845 458 7485 or email rbs@duchy. ac.uk.

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 7

Implications of Brexit for UK farm policy

By Dr Keith Howe, Senior Research Fellow, the Land, Environment, Economics and Policy Institute, University of Exeter One of the more curious outcomes of the UK referendum on EU membership was that so many farmers voted for Brexit. Economists have long understood that the Common Agricultural Policy has many limitations, but for farmers there are uncertain times and great challenges ahead associated with any radical change in policy regime. must include reaching agreement on the UK’s share of the total EU AMS, currently €72.4 billion (Source: CAP Reform. eu), acquired on Brexit, a political issue with profound implications.

Policy options In principle, Brexit is a unique opportunity to reconstruct UK agricultural policy. In practice, it is not as simple as that. It is a delusion to suppose that Brexit means the UK can do as it likes. World-wide, agricultural policies are subject to rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The UK is a WTO member in its own right, but so is the EU which negotiates on behalf of all its member states.

Crucially, the UK cannot simply carry over the terms of its current WTO membership as part of the EU to its postBrexit status. It will have to rewrite schedules alongside over 160 other WTO members, including the EU, to resolve such sensitive issues as limits on agricultural subsidies and the size of tariff quotas. Currently there are almost 100 EUwide quotas, mostly on agricultural products, to be divided up between

UK preferences

the EU and post-Brexit UK. Limits to farm support Limits on agricultural subsidies are set according to countries’ current Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS), their commitments made under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture to reduce government support. This monetary measure is intended to capture the extent to which domestic policy interventions cause agricultural production to differ from what it would be under essentially free market conditions.

The international

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Dr Keith Howe (left), with Exmoor farmer Andrew Holland. Photo credit: Philip Dalling consequences are that domestic distortions affect prices and quantities traded on world markets to the unfair disadvantage of other countries, especially those best suited to agricultural production.

Under WTO Agreement terms, EU support must decrease according to a single common reduction commitment (support ceiling). There is one ceiling for the EU, not separate ones for each of its member states.

Thus UK-EU negotiations

Nowadays, UK governments want only market forces to determine agricultural product prices. Inevitably, this increases price uncertainty with implications for farm income variability. By contrast, expenditures for farm support are increasingly tied to provision of environmental public goods. The terms ‘ecosystem services’ and ‘natural capital’ gain currency in more than one sense. Environmental payments can help offset variability from conventional farm production. Importantly, farmers must see themselves as producers of much more than crops and livestock. Society

also wants beautiful landscapes, locations for conservation of rare flowers and insects, cleaner water, flood protection, and a myriad other products farmers can provide from their resources. All are part of economic activity for people’s benefit.

New perspectives However, for environmental payments to meet WTO requirements, they must have minimal trade or production-distorting effects, comply with a defined government programme, with payments limited to extra costs or loss of income associated with compliance (Paragraph 12, Annex 2, WTO Agreement on Agriculture). The payments constraint was defensible years ago when supply reduction was the priority. Then, environmental payments served as financial compensation to farmers for producing lowered arable and livestock outputs, a consideration that no longer applies.

If society is to get the levels of environmental products it wants, payments should no longer be so constrained.

Conveniently, the EU has been so successful with policy reform that it is now well within its €72 billion AMS limit, leaving scope for

increased environmental payments. Hasund and Johansson (2016) find that EU regulations are more restrictive than the WTO Agreement. EU environmental payments require compliance with management practices, whereas results-based and value-based schemes are feasible alternatives under WTO rules. Both are rooted in sound economic logic and, potentially, are likely to be more attractive to UK farmers.

business decisions.

In future, undistorted markets will determine profit margins in crop and livestock production.

Pricing environmental products is typically much more challenging, and a priority area for finding solutions to difficult valuation problems and design of payment systems. A consequence of Brexit is its implications for all concerned with

farming and the rural environment, for whom maintaining high levels of policy awareness, technical and business skills will definitely be at a premium.

Further information •

Emma Downing, EU Referendum: Impact on UK Agriculture Policy, House of Commons Library Briefing Paper No. 7602, 26 May 2016

•

Knut Per Hasund and Maria Johansson, Paying for Environmental Results is WTO Compliant, Eurochoices, Volume 15, Issue 3, December 2016, 33-38 [DOI: 10.1111/1746-692X.12110]

•

David Orden, David Blandford and Tim Josling (eds.), WTO Disciplines on Agricultural Support, Cambridge University Press, 2011

•

http://capreform.eu/uk-brexit

Conclusions The UK needs success in negotiating a share of the EU AMS giving sufficient scope within WTO rules to implement a domestic agricultural policy fit for the 21st century. Society wants and farmers produce, both agricultural and environmental products. Farmers need always to consider the financial trade-offs between them in making

Exmoor typifies the type of landscape where tradeoffs between farming and the environment are in constant focus. Photo credit: Dr Keith Howe

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 9

How dependent is UK food production on the EU?

By Sally Thompson, Research Officer, Farm Business Survey, Rural Business School Some facts and figures on UK & south west food production and consumption.

1a. What do we grow?

(Chart 1) •

71% of land in the UK is used for farming (17.2 million ha).

•

19% of land is used for arable crops and just 1% for horticultural crops (fruit and veg).

•

£10.7 billion is the contribution from agriculture and fishing to the economy (2014).

•

400,000 people are employed in farming.

•

The UK is 76% self-sufficient at producing home grown food ie. Food that we are able to grow in the UK.

Chart 1: Source: Defra, “British food and farming at a glance” 21/03/16 1b. What is the contribution from the South West? (Chart 2) Defra estimates that 24%

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of the national livestock output comes from the South West

Chart 2: What is the contribution from the south west? Source: Farm Business Management Digest 2016 (Fig. 2, page 7)

2. Where does the rest of our food come from?

(Chart 3) The leading foreign suppliers were the Netherlands (5.6%), Spain (5.1%), France (3.1%), Germany (3.1%) and Irish Republic (3%).

The UK supplied: •

86% of the dairy product and egg supply.

•

84% of meat and meat preparation supply.

•

56% of cereals and cereal preparations (including rice).

•

23% of fruit and vegetable supply.

3. What do we export?

(Chart 4) Our top products for export are whisky, worth £4 billion per year; salmon, cheese, wine and

Chart 3: Origins of food consumed in UK, 2014 (based on farm-gate value of unprocessed food). Source: Defra “Food Statistics Pocketbook”.

lamb. Most of our exports are ‘highly processed’ products: added value products rather than raw commodities. Our exports are also diverse, from milk powder, truffles, oysters, natural honey, beer, gin, cider, flavourings and specialist ingredients.

4. Where do we export?

5. Import/Export Deficit

(Chart 5, overleaf)

(Chart 6, overleaf)

Of the UK’s top 20 export markets for food and drink products, £9.37 billion goes to EU countries and £4.33bn goes to non-EU countries.

The value of imports is greater than the value of exports in each of the broad categories of food, feed and drink except Beverages, which had a trade surplus of £1.27bn in 2014, (mainly due to whisky exports). Cereals is the second largest export group with a value of £1.9bn, followed by the meat and fish categories at £1.7 and £1.6bn respectively. In 2014 fruit and vegetables had the largest trade gap of £7.8 billion, due to imports of £8.7bn and exports of just £0.9bn.

Chart 4: Source: Defra “British Food and farming at a Glance 2016”.

6. How much is UK agriculture subsidised by the EU? According to Defra, £3.2bn was paid in CAP subsidies in the UK last year, of which £2.3bn was Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 11

Left, Chart 5: Source: Defra “British Food and farming at a Glance 2016”.

Below, Chart 6. Source: Defra “Food Statistics Pocketbook”. for the Basic Payment Scheme.

7. How dependent are south west farmers on these EU subsidies?

(Chart 7) The chart below shows the extent of dependency of both English and south west farms on EU subsidies from 2013 to 2016.

Below, Chart 7: Farm Business Income per hectare for England and south west. Source: Farm Business Survey.

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Reducing uncertainty – knowing the production costs of wheat

By Gregory MacQueen, Research Officer, Farm Business Survey, Rural Business School There is currently much uncertainty caused both by the devaluation of the pound and the future unknowns of UK policy post-Brexit and the possibility of tariffs. And then, when you thought the uncertainty couldn’t get any worse, the Commission announces a consultation on reforms of the CAP to make it “more market orientated” with less “dependence on public intervention in the market” and for farmers to “raise their level of environmental ambition”. This will also no doubt affect UK prices, either directly because of possible changes to the terms of Brexit or indirectly through influencing policy.

Farming is extremely sensitive to output prices and level of support.

Latest published data for 2015/16 show that the Basic Payment Scheme contributed 67% of total farm business income

(profit), with the rest coming from diversified enterprises and agrienvironment schemes; the contribution from agricultural production for the average farm was in fact negative1. Hence

for many enterprises, Farm Business Survey (FBS) figures show costs of production per unit of output were higher than the prices received. An industry with such high costs relative to profit

is therefore extremely vulnerable to output price changes. Whatever the outcome, Brexit will mean change. It will be very important for farmers to be aware of their costs of production to make informed decisions.

Table 1 (left) shows the average feed wheat net margin for 88 farms in the south west for harvest 2015. The total cost of £1,424 per hectare is equivalent to £156 per tonne2. Adjusting for straw output brings the break-even price down to £144 per tonne, still considerably more than the price received of £111 per tonne.

Chart 1 (overleaf ) shows how total costs of production varied as the area of wheat per farm increased. There are two points worth noting: firstly, there was of course as we would expect much variability

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 13

Chart 1: Total costs per tonne by area of wheat grown (2015 harvest)

between farms; secondly, economic theory would predict a decrease in costs per tonne as the area grown increases due to “spreading fixed costs” (economies of scale) even perhaps at the expense of yield per hectare. The figures for the 2015 harvest tell a slightly different story: yield increased with area grown (chart 2); and total costs per hectare were not affected by scale (chart 3) – a small decrease in fixed costs per hectare was offset by a small increase in variable costs per hectare.

Chart 2 (left) shows the effect of scale on the yield per hectare. For every extra 10 hectares grown there was an average increase in yield of 0.12 tonnes per hectare.

Chart 2: The relationship between yield and area grown (2015 harvest)

Chart 3 demonstrates no relationship between costs per hectare and area grown; a small reduction in fixed costs per hectare was offset by a small increase in variable costs per hectare as area grown increased.

Chart 4 (see next page) shows that 90 percent of farms had costs exceeding £125 per tonne and two thirds of farms had costs exceeding £150 per tonne.

Conclusions •

Chart 3: The relationship between costs per hectare and area grown (2015 harvest) page 14 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

The ‘hidden’ costs of unpaid labour

•

AND HOPE FOR GOOD WEATHER!

There is a Projection Calculator based on the national results of 682 farms to help in calculating forward gross margins for wheat, barley and oilseed rape with latest cost estimates at http://www. farmbusinesssurvey. co.uk/FBS-Projector/ Chart 4: The distribution of costs per tonne (2015 harvest)

Sources https://www.gov.uk/ government/uploads/ system/uploads/ attachment_data/ file/562946/fbsbusinessincomestatsnotice-27oct16.pdf 1

and rent for owner occupied land should not be forgotten when calculating costs per tonne.

•

Renting? The 2015 sample average cost of £144 per tonne includes a ‘land and property cost’ (which includes paid rent and unpaid rental

production means that decisions come down to cost efficiencies on individual farms.

equivalent) of £220 per hectare (£89 per acre).

•

The graphs suggest that there are advantages to growing a bigger area of wheat because of higher yields. However, the variability between farms at all scales of

•

CALCULATE YOUR COSTS

•

ASSESS THE RISKS

•

MAKE YOUR DECISION

Includes imputed costs of rent for owned land and a charge for all unpaid labour 2

BSc (Hons) Rural Business Management students recently presented their marketing reports to the Devon County Show Management Board – full report in the next issue.

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 15

Young leaders in agriculture given new opportunities

By Richard Soffe, Director

A new leadership course is set to give young people a leg-up in the rural industry, by developing their management and communication skills. The Leadership and Management Programme (LAMP), established by the Worshipful Company of Farmers and delivered by the RBS will target the personal development of its participants, while helping to contribute to the growth of the wider rural sector. are the basis upon which the future is built.

Launching in October 2017, the course is aimed at 20-30 year-olds who are in the early stages of their career and may or may not have formal academic qualifications.

This is an age gap we have wanted to target for some time, as it is a really important age to get set up for the future. It can make all the difference to someone’s career.

The programme is a week-long residential course held in the Midlands, and will help attendees to develop basic leadership skills, undertake selfassessment and achieve high standards in everything they do. We want the course to help delegates develop a deeper understanding of the wider business environment and to improve their capacity to operate effectively within their own businesses.

The course is a foundation for candidates that can then be built

upon throughout their careers by attending the Challenge of Rural Leadership course and Advanced Course in Agricultural Business Management.

Incorporating the use of live case studies, guest speakers and a personal development plan, it will be a platform on which delegates can shape their careers.

Participants will also benefit from mentor

page 16 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

The new LAMP course is a foundation that can be built upon with other Worshipful Company of Farmers courses

support for a year after the attending the programme, giving them the chance to keep track of their progress and continue building on what they have learnt.

Supporting the younger generation is essential for the development of British agriculture, as they

Jane King, CEO at AHDB adds, “We are entering a defining moment for the future of the industry and strong leadership will be fundamental to our future success. Courses like the Challenge of Rural Leadership have been truly inspirational in finding and nurturing great leaders who grow spectacular businesses and go on to have real impact and influence on others. Personal development and a positive attitude towards lifelong learning will be vital if we’re to build a world class industry together. The new course will encourage young innovators at an earlier stage in their careers.”

For more information or to apply for the course, please call 0845 458 7485 or rbs@duchy.ac.uk

Creating leaders at the 21st Challenge of Rural Leadership course The Worshipful Company of Farmers’ 21st Challenge of Rural Leadership coordinated by the RBS took place in January at Dartington Hall in Devon; the 2017 cohort of 18 delegates included a broad range of farmers with diverse businesses, but also a significant number of the vital supporting agricultural industries, such as agricultural valuers, anaerobic digestion experts and land agents.

Speakers this year included the President of the National Farmers’ Union, Meurig Raymond, Neil Parish MP, George Eustice MP and some experts more local to us, such as Bill Clarke of Trewithen Diary. These and other speakers brought significant expertise, life-taught leadership as well as knowledge, particularly from a political perspective to the course.

The reputation of the Worshipful Company of Farmers’ Challenge of Rural Leadership continues to grow, and it

is easy to appreciate why the course is respected.

The course is probably best summed up by two of this year’s delegates.

Simon Bainbridge farms a 650ha upland organic farm with 150 suckler cows and 1,500 breeding ewes with his wife, Claire and his parents. Healthy, maternal livestock and quality feed is a priority.

I have been given the fantastic opportunity to take part in the 21st Worshipful Company of Farmers’ Challenge of

Rural Leadership, which has brought together eighteen delegates from across the UK and the globe. We are staying at Dartington Hall in Devon, which is providing us with incredible facilities to be able to develop and grow as leaders, whilst making friends for life and giving us time to think away from our businesses.

From the start of the course, our challenges commenced with connections being forged and unique diversity bringing laughter, honesty and respect

with them generating mutual encouragement.

All of these contribute to something inspiring with a life-long legacy for our group, and by the end of the course we will have evolved into what could easily be called ‘a family’.

This course is directed

by Richard Soffe and his team from Duchy College on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Farmers, and we as a group have benefitted from the opportunities granted by the Challenge of Rural Leadership and in return, a high level of personal investment is required to get the most from the course. Each day brings a number of new challenges which have included, an intensive case study, psychometrics, leadership development, communications, the media, adventure, The 2017 Challenge of Rural Leadership delegates, with NFU President Meurig Raymond (front row, centre) and Course Director Richard Soffe (front row, second from right)

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 17

tradition and lifechanging learning.

I am hoping that this time away from home will really increase my ability to drive my business forward, represent the farming community in Northumberland and nationally with greater strength, and improve my work life balance. Back at home I am told that things are running very efficiently, with even the hint that they are getting more done without me!

The usual winter routine of feeding and bedding continues, with some

fencing and a good tidy up taking place as well.

Work on the chicken shed is progressing with the feed bins now in place, the majority of the fencing up and the team from NewQuip arriving to construct the internal multi tier system.

(Courtesy of Farmers Weekly, where this article first appeared).

Nicky Mann, from Australia supported by Nuffield Australia.

I was so impressed with the selection process of Duchy College and the

Worshipful Company of Farmers, as every single participant was an accomplished, highly successful individual but so personable and passionate to help one another achieve a common goal of improving ourselves for the betterment of the agricultural sector. This greatly added to the success of the course.

We feel humbled to have spent two weeks with this inspirational group of rural leaders. We have formed friendships, allies, mentors, confidants as

well as bonds for life.

There is a phenomenon that groups that have attended this particular course in the past still gather annually just to catch up, visit farms and generally keep each other motivated and focused on the bigger purpose. I can see this year’s group being no exception.

For more information or to apply for the course, please call 0845 458 7485 or rbs@duchy.ac.uk

Duchy College wins NIAB Agronomy Cup Four agriculture degree students from Duchy College are the winners of the 2016 NIAB Agronomy Cup and the title ‘the best student wheat growers in the country’.

Rosie Dodd, Reuben Ridout, Holly Yelland and Lauren Hill achieved the highest gross margin in the 2016 competition at £1,531.95/ha, based on a yield of 11.70 t/ ha and an input cost of £82.65/ha. They beat 18 other university and college teams, and a team of NIAB TAG farmer members, to lift the Cup and win a day out with a NIAB TAG agronomist and free entry to a NIAB TAG members’ technical conference.

The competition challenges a team’s

NIAB Agronomy Cup winners. From left: Holly Yelland, Lauren Hill, Rosie Dodd and Reuben Ridout agronomy, farm management and agricultural decisionmaking skills as they

page 18 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

make input decisions for a milling wheat variety on a local NIAB field trials site, which emphasises

the importance of basing recommendations on field observations and local conditions. NIAB TAG trials officers apply the recommendation to fully-replicated field plots. The winning Duchy team’s approach was to implement a straightforward input programme with great attention to detail regarding costs, prevailing disease pressure and fungicide efficacy. The result was a whopping £257.83/ha, or 20%, increase in margin over the NIAB standard.

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Advertise in the The Rural Business School and reach over 11,000 readers!

Land, stock, machinery, goods, services etc.

Charges: 50p per word plus £5.00 for a photo.

Call 0845 458 7485 to place your advertisement or e-mail gc@duchy.ac.uk Cheques payable to ‘Duchy College’.

We reserve the right to refuse submissions. Advertisers are liable in law not to mis-represent any offerings for sale, under the Business Advertisement Disclosure Order. We accept no responsibility for the contents of these advertisements.

Advice Days Bicton College - 22nd April 2017, 10am-12pm Duchy College Stoke Climsland OPEN DAY and Food Festival- 24-25th June 2017, 10am-4pm Duchy College Rosewarne OPEN DAY - 25th June 2017, 11am-3pm Please call 0845 6050 455 for more information

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Contact CPTC Ltd on: Tel: 01579 372285 or Email: cptc@cornwall.ac.uk

CPTC Ltd Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 19

Farm management training overview of the ‘new’ Level 4 Diploma – 5 years on

By Stephen Parsons

Level 4 farm management courses have been delivered by the College in Cornwall and Devon for many years – originally they were called Phase 4. The new qualification (C&G Diploma in Agricultural Business Management) however was written in 2010/11 and included some marked changes notably a lot of time spent considering advanced husbandry/technology practices from a management perspective both physically and financially and also a much greater emphasis on product marketing so as to maximise price and planning and managing integrated management systems aimed at enhancing the environment. The content of the new qualification was driven very much by industry itself to reflect the needs of those charged with running a modern farm business or enterprise. The programme comprises two years of day release.

Uptake on the new qualification has been very strong and this coming autumn will see the sixth cohort of students starting the programme. Those that have gone through already, have been very praising of how the programme has helped them become more effective managers and better able to adapt to the continual changes that farming goes through.

Almost all would say that they have much better information available, thus giving them a better basis on which to make decisions and generally with much tighter control of their business input/output data. Another key facet from the programme is the extensive range of contacts that they have

developed and the fact that learning does not stop at the end of the course!!

Most students coming on to the programme have done some type of Level 3 programme, either partor full-time although it has to be said that some just have extensive craft/ technical experience. All students entering the programme must have management potential.

Some will already be in management either at the farm or enterprise level, whilst others will simply be aspiring to be so. The programme aims to put the student through a trial run of “enterprise/ farm management” by making them apply all the learning to their own business, continually posing the question through benchmarking and critical analysis of

page 20 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

where is my business now and how can I improve things? A key feature of the programme is that students have to develop improvement action plans with their employer which physically have to implemented, monitored and evaluated, thus providing a continuous “loop” of improvement.

One of the great strengths of the programme is its delivery through industry specialists in whatever field they operate: nutrition, breeding, fertility, health, environmental management, grass and forage and of course business and financial management. Each day is devoted to a particular subject and led by one of these individuals.

Considerable use is made of carefully selected visits to example farms.

Learning ongoing is through group discussion and sessions are organised so as to facilitate this.

Whilst Level 4 is a high level qualification and equates to Higher Education i.e. Degreelevel learning, this programme is much more vocational and less academic. It has strong emphasis no application and doing and indeed there are no written exams or tests all assessment is based on undertaking applied management tasks that relate to the workplace and which are assessed by visiting assessors who collect much of the knowledge from recorded professional discussion.

Having a good employer is essential. Probably more learning than from

anywhere else is taken from this person. It is this person’s knowledge, skill and understanding of successful farm management that the young person aspires to. Fortunately the launch of this programme coincided

with the Government’s introduction of Higher Level Apprenticeships for those wishing to gain graduate level training whilst in employment.

This for most of the “management trainees” has provided a very supportive funding

framework which meets the majority of the cost.

The College is very proud to be one of the very few institutions in the country delivering this Level 4 qualification.

For more information Why not contact the College and arrange to meet one of the team (see below).

City and Guilds Level 4 Work Based Diploma in

Agricultural Business Management Now receiving applications for September 2017 - apply early to ensure consideration for a place This is the highest work based qualification in Agriculture that City and Guilds offer. It is part-time, being a day a week of College attendance for the winter months and spans two years. The programme focuses on grazing livestock, dairy, sheep and beef.

You can study through the new Higher Level Apprenticeship which covers most of the cost. The programme aims to develop management skills and knowledge for either practising or aspiring managers with an overall aim of increasing performance, efficiency, and business management and thus farm profit.

Most of the learning and assessment are through application in your own work place i.e. “theory in to practice”. College attendance is limited to 25 days for each winter period and assessors visit the farm on a regular basis. Top industry specialists are used to deliver the College days. There are a number of visits. The programme encourages considerable discussion The programme comprises Advanced Technology (Nutrition, Breeding/Fertility, Health, Environment, Grass and Forage) and Business & Finance (Improving Profitability, Panning/Budgeting, Cash Flow, Investment Appraisal, Sources of Capital, HR, Policy, Taxation and includes Rent Tendering and Bank Borrowing Case Studies). This is a natural progression from a Level 3

For further information please contact Stephen Parsons on 07450 287164 or email stapp@gotadsl.co.uk

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 21

Guest Articles

Repositioning Wool in Society

By Jennifer Hunter of Fernhill Farm, 21st Challenge of Rural Leadership delegate

The term repositioning wool has become the focus of my attention after a decade of frustration and international research, “As a wool grower producing fine British wool in all the native colours, it’s time sheep farmers were encouraged to rethink their wool crop as a primary industrial product, rather than a by-product from the sheep meat industry.” Focusing on the future rather than historic tendencies, wool has unique qualities that offer a reliable, abundant, resilient resource, adaptable to the manufacture of high quality products across many industries.

“Surely ‘Made in UK’, and our British wool heritage is something we should be proud to display?”

Increasing wool availability to companies seeking to monitor their Environmental Profit and Loss, reduce their carbon footprint and highlight their global ethical image is essential for 21st Century business objectives.

Fortunately, we can thank organisations such as the Campaign for Wool (CFW) and the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) for their dedicated research and publications celebrating the many attributes of all natural fibres and promoting wool as the fibre of the future.

Insulation for homes and transportation, sound absorption and PPE (personal protective equipment) are well known uses aside the craft and textile industry - using wools natural protein ‘keratin’ for skin and bone grafts, examining edible wool

page 22 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

protein, wool and seaweed bricks, resin wool furniture, and coffin cocoons are further examples that form part of the positive future for wool.

I am forever grateful to The Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust and my sponsors The Company of Merchants of the Staple

of England for their travel bursary together with personal development opportunities, allowing dedicated time to investigate wool within global societies. Travelling without family or business commitments, I discovered the true Jennifer grading wool in the shearing shed

stage gestation, with the benefits outweighing the cost of the blade shearing process (see table below).

value of wool, both socio-economically and as the versatile fibre it is thankfully becoming recognised again for, all around the world at every level of investment.

Fernhill Farm – Eco-venue with accommodation Welcoming National Sheep Association Next Generation Young Ambassadors to our farm on an annual basis has helped me to understand where we in the UK position wool. Managing our Eco-centre also allows me to interact with thousands of urban faces on a regular basis and they too, rarely receive positive messages about our historic genetic goldmine.

Fernhill Farm – nomadic shepherding Addressing these wider issues is a long-term vision of my partner Andy Wear, who for the last 30 years has considered his

nomadic sheep flocks as land management tools, improving soil fertility using natural grazing habits to shepherd large mobs behind electric fences for a short amount of time. Timely grazing is essential to increase footfall, supply nutrients, remove vegetative pasture and distribute seeds, all of which helps to build healthy soil profiles capable of sequestering carbon.

This has been achievable using primitive genetics from the Shetland to create hybrid vigour from terminal sire meat breeds

Traditional blade shearing has many benefits for the modern flock

from the Wairere Romney genetics. Smaller ewes increase stocking density and are well suited for conservation grazing requirements, producing fine colourful lambs’ wool together with nutrient dense mature lamb (hogget and mutton).

Fernhill Farm – Benefits of Blade Shearing Pre-lamb Blade Shearing allows us to remove the fleeces when ewes are entering their third

Blade Shearing lambs in autumn leaves an inch of fibre protection, increases appetite and weight gain whilst consuming abundant Autumn pastures. Romney longwool genetics supply a soft 3-4inch / avg 20micron wool staple, appreciated by spinners and weavers, plus a cleaner supply of hoggets through the winter and early spring auction markets.

Fernhill Farm – blade shearing As a true Ambassador and International Blade Shearer, Andy is well known in the shearing circuits, promoting the growing competitive show scene and using our purpose built Benefits of blade shearing

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 23

4-stand shearing shed to encourage all shearers to improve their performance. “With 2,000 ewes to shear, we enjoy the shearing shed banter where wool handlers and shearers can chat freely, improving rural camaraderie and employment opportunities”.

In 2016 we started our Cut Above the Best - Blade shearing Tournament, where 30 of the very best internationally recognised competition shearers helped create a very special ambience rarely seen in this fast and furious society. Sponsored

by Lister Shearing, winners received expertly sharpened new sets of blades to encourage their future potential.

Information about our Spring and Autumn Blade Shearing Tournaments can be found at www. fernhill-farm.co.uk and our social media platforms - do come along to enjoy sheep dog demonstrations, pop-up wool shop with fresh

workshops at www.3lm. co.uk. “When the Minister of Agriculture addressed our pre-dinner reception at Dartington with the very words ‘a holistic approach’, when discussing the post Brexit UK cap reform ... I encourage us all to consider who and where will the true value of our assets be recognised” Wool has a myriad of uses, including these beautiful felt burial cocoons, handmade on Dartmoor by Yuli Sømme of Bellacouche (www.bellacouche.com), using Shetland seconds fibres purchased from Fernhill Farm.

fleece sales, live music, camp fires and our Taste of Somerset menu from our “off the hoof” cafe.

“We welcome all shearers and those who appreciate finesse, skill and a flurry of gambling to raise funds for the novice prize winners.”

21st Challenge of Rural Leadership in 2017 Growing wool is easy, marketing wool is a whole new era and thanks to the Duchy RBS and the Worshipful Company of Farmers their ’Challenge of Rural Leadership

page 24 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

Course’, I hope to link our top-quality fleece with my Nuffield Farming discoveries to enter the Land to Market campaign recently endorsed by the Savory Institute for Holistic Management.

Two weeks at Dartington Hall in Devon in a learning cohort of 18 creates lasting friendship, mentorship and empowerment and I am sure we can all say, this leadership course comes highly commended!

This came at a fortunate time for myself as we are hosting the Holistic Management modular training course with 3LM - Land and Livestock Management for Life, with my focus being wool promotion. Interested participants can find all the details covering the foundation course and the subsequent Land, Grazing, Ecological and Financial planning

I am very much looking forward to my next life chapters involving future generational farmers, educational establishments and ecologically-aware guests that understand their purchasing power, whilst focusing our integrated business objectives on risk management for the future of our family.

Statement Travelling the world as a wool connoisseur, my strongest recollection remains with wool products for sale at every airport – each product signifying specific country traditions and surely ‘Made in UK’, and our British wool heritage is something we should be proud to display? Growers should never consider their wool as a burden in our society.

For more information Visit www.fernhillfarm.co.uk and see page 17 for details of the Challenge of Rural Leadership course.

Horrington Milk-hut

By Andrew Jones, ResM student, Duchy College Here Andrew details a visit to a dairy farm run by Joshua Hares who runs a typical herd of c.200 Friesian cows, but has recently installed a milk-vending machine on his farm.

I became aware of the Horrington Milk-hut from a clip on BBC Spotlight which was shared on social media. Even though this machine is not the first of its kind in the country, for some reason it has captured the most media attention, possibly due to its rapid success. From correspondence with Joshua before my visit, and through following on social media, I was aware that this machine has quickly become a real success story, and within nine days of opening, Joshua had already run out of milk on several occasions, causing him to invest in a larger capacity pasteuriser.

Frome Road Farm, where the machine is situated, is located a five minute drive east of Wells on a quiet B-road. The farmyard is directly next to the road with a large, flat yard with space for multiple vehicles. Its location is important to note as it is easily accessible for many vehicles to arrive and depart from, and is within easy reach of a large, affluent population centre.

On arrival, Mollie (my partner) and I were greeted by Josh who proceeded to tell us about some of the difficulties he had encountered so far (as he later mentioned, being one of the first milk vending machines in the country there was no real blueprint to follow and he often had to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;make it up as I went alongâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;).

One of the most unexpected problems was with drying milk bottles. Demand for bottles had been much higher than expected. At time of writing, the hut had been open for three weeks and he had sold 2,500 bottles and was still going strong). Because of this, he had been buying bottles in bulk which arrived on a pallet. The

Andrew (left) and Joshua Hares with the milk vending machine

which is apparently due to the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Scandinavian origins. He mentioned that some dairy farmers he had spoken to previously, with intentions to set up a vending machine, had fallen foul of milk contracts as many (notably supermarket contracts) do not allow any of the milk produced to be sold elsewhere.

bottles were delivered clean, but unsterilized meaning he had to sterilize them himself and then somehow dry them fast enough in order to apply his labels, and therefore keep up with demand.

He went on to mention that on a particularly busy day he was selling up to 5% of his milk via the machine; however, he had been offered a contract with a company who allow substantially more flexibility, so he had options for the future if his demand increased further.

As we wandered through the main cattle shed, Josh went on to tell us exactly how his farm operates. He runs a fairly typical herd of around 200 Friesians, which calve year-round and are milked twice a day in a 16-herringbone parlour installed in the early 1980s. His contract is with Arla who allow their farmers to sell up to 10% of their milk independently, a setup

As we made our way back out of the cow shed and towards the parlour, he showed us his pasteurising set up. He uses a shipping container as a pasteurisation area, as it is possible to isolate and maintain sanitary conditions with ease.

Within the container he has both the original smaller pasteuriser and the recently purchased larger unit, which has a

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 25

110 litre capacity. He tells me that the current setup meets the necessary regulations. He has plans, however, to extend the cow shed in order to build a more modern parlour (with a viewing area for the public), which will leave space for him to incorporate the pasteurisation area into the building.

Making our way towards the vending machine itself, I ask who his main customers are. He replied, “It differs throughout the day, with predominantly workmen in the morning stopping in their vans to buy a bottle on their way to work, retired and older people in the middle of the day and families on the school run towards the end of the afternoon”. He did note, however, that the machine is constantly active, with 16 pints of milk sold between the hours of 8pm-6am on one occasion.

I asked if he is aware what the main appeal of his product is, he replied that it seems to be partially due to nostalgia or the novelty of glass bottles, partly due to the taste of non-homogenised milk, but mainly because people are happier knowing the money from milk sales is going directly to the farmer. He hastens to add that he is in no way playing the ‘poor, starving dairy farmer’ card

as he has a brand new JCB and pick-up truck in the yard and makes no pretence as to his circumstances.

The Milk-hut itself contains two main segments, the bottle dispenser and the milk dispenser. Customers are welcome to bring their own containers and are encouraged to re-use their old bottles. For a first time-customer, the cost is £1 for a bottle, which is then held beneath a nozzle, whereby a pint of milk is dispensed at £1.

The machine was originally made in Switzerland but bought second hand in the UK from an unsuccessful project in the north of England. Josh estimated the cost of the machine at around £6,500, and inclusive of the pasteurisation set-up, installation & bottles etc., a total set-up cost of around £15,000 (noninclusive of his time).

Using rough calculations gathered thus far, he presently sells 150-180 pints on an average weekday, and up to 250 on a weekend. Using current figures, Josh predicts the Milk-hut will bring in around £70,000£80,000 a year, increasing his turnover by around 15%. Josh reflects he has been fortunate with his circumstances regarding location etc., but remarks that he has heard from

page 26 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

Customers are encouraged to reuse their old bottles

dozens of other farmers with similar intentions, who he predicts may well be put off by the complexities of the set-up procedure and the red tape, most notably foodhygiene regulations.

Finally, Josh muses that with such a pioneering concept, he has had no lack of ‘suggestions’ from well-meaning people on how to run things in future, including a sincere suggestion of ‘tie a donkey to it’ because people often like to stop and say hello to donkeys!

About Andrew I work as the herdsman at Dairyland Farmworld, a farm-park near Newquay, where my main role is to milk the herd of rare breed cattle for the education and entertainment of visitors to the park. However, the milk produced from the herd is not currently sold, as selling milk from such a small-scale dairy herd is generally considered

unviable. This led me to consider ideas such as, ‘Exactly how small is unviable?’, ‘If the milk was sold directly from the farmer, would they pay more?’ and ‘Do people even care where their milk is from?’ These questions encouraged me to start a ResM in Agriculture and Food at Duchy College, where I am able to research this area, and still continue to work full time.

The broad scope of my project has been primarily to survey members of the public on their willingness to pay extra for ‘speciality milk products’ involving factors such as: small scale herds, rare breeds or local product provenance.

In addition, I have been collating case studies of dairy farmers who produce milk involving one of these factors.

With the information gathered from these two sources, I hope to ascertain whether or not consumers are willing to pay more for ‘speciality’ milk products, and if farmers are able to produce milk at this price.

For more information on ResM courses please contact us on 08456 050 455 or uni@duchy.ac.uk

Controlling gutworms in sheep using faecal egg counts

By Dr Hannah Rose Vineer and Dr Eric Morgan, University of Bristol Veterinary Parasitology and Ecology Research Group and BUG Consortium

Gastrointestinal nematodes (gutworms) in sheep are a major drain on production if they are not effectively controlled. The most obvious impact of infection is reduced growth rates in lambs, but heavy infections can kill. Nematodirus battus infections, which can rapidly kill young lambs before any symptoms are seen, can be controlled by treating with an appropriate anthelmintic (dewormer) around the time of peak risk. SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) Nematodirus risk alerts (scops.org.uk) can help determine the optimum timing of treatment to prevent disease.

For other gutworms such as Teladorsagia circumcincta and Haemonchus contortus, faecal egg counts (FECs) can be used to determine the optimum timing of treatments to reduce the impact of infection. On some farms the number of treatments required per year may also be reduced, helping to slow the development of anthelmintic resistance.

Faecal egg counts (FECs) are used to monitor the approximate worm burden in sheep by detecting gutworm eggs, which are passed in the dung. Results are presented in eggs per gramme and can be used, in combination with observations of weight gain, condition and grazing management, to determine the optimum time to treat lambs.

FECs can also be used to check the efficacy of treatment, for breeding purposes (Estimated Breeding Values) and to manage the contamination of pasture with eggs and therefore manage the risk to your lambs throughout the season and in subsequent years. FECs can be

What is FEC & Using FECs in your herd or flock 10am â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 3pm ÂŁ70 includes MiniFlotac kit *not including microscope Friday 21st April Duchy College, Stoke Climsland conducted by veterinary surgeries or commercial providers (e.g. postal services), or on-farm using systems such as FECPAK G2 or miniFLOTAC. More information on the Nematodirus risk alerts can be found on page 28.

If you are interested in finding out more about faecal egg counting, the Rural Business School is

running two courses this spring. The courses will cover FECs and how they can be used in your herd or flock. The session will include a practical session on using FEC and MiniFLOTAC.

Friday 28th April Bicton College Please call the Rural Business School on 0845 458 7485 to book, or if interested in a course in other parts of south west.

For more information To find out more about gutworms and anthelmintic resistance visit the SCOPS website (scops.org.uk), the BUG Consortium website (bugconsortium.wordpress.com) and Farm Health Online (www.farmhealthonline.com) Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 27

Online forecast maps warns sheep farmers about risk of Nematodirosis in lambs With the arrival of spring comes the parasite Nematodirus, a deadly threat to the lives of lambing flocks. An online risk forecast could help UK sheep farmers assess the risk of outbreaks of the parasite in their lambs and take action before it is too late. The forecast maps will be updated daily to track changes in risk throughout the spring and early summer and include treatment and management advice.

Sciences, said, “Farmers using the forecast service in 2016 reported significant improvements in lamb health including fewer lamb deaths, less scouring (diarrhoea) better weight gain and better body lamb condition.”

The online risk forecast has been developed

by SCOPS (Sustainable Control of Parasites in Sheep) and researchers at the University of Bristol’s School of Veterinary Sciences to predict when Nematodirus eggs will hatch and when outbreaks are likely to happen.

Nematodirosis, caused by the gutworm Nematodirus battus, is a deadly disease affecting young lambs. Eggs deposited on pasture by lambs the previous year hatch together in spring, triggered by a period of chilling over winter followed by warmer weather. Young lambs take in large numbers of larvae as they graze, which damage their gut leading to foetid black diarrhoea (black scour) and death.

Predicting when outbreaks might happen is becoming increasingly difficult due to variation in spring temperatures from year to year. Farmers can no longer rely on

A farmer who used the forecast in 2016 added, “The interactive map means that I have greater confidence about when it is safe to move the lambs and avoid risk of Nematodirus.”

a standard timetable of treatments to avoid disease. As the damage is done by the larvae, faecal egg counts are of little use in detecting and controlling Nematodirus in young lambs.

The forecast takes advantage of the temperature-driven synchronised hatching of the Nematodirus larvae and uses weather data from 140 weather stations provided by the Met Office and Forecast.io.

page 28 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

An example of the SCOPS Nematodirus map

The interactive Google map allows farmers and advisers to select the nearest or most representative weather station and provides advice on how to relate the predicted risk to their particular farm and treatment options.

Dr Hannah Rose, Senior Research Associate in the School of Veterinary

In previous years, 64% of farmers and advisers surveyed changed the timing or extent of treatment – or advised treatment - after consulting the forecast, which has been running since 2013 and 93% felt that their approach to control of this parasite had changed as a result of the forecast.

The model development was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.

New Farm Business Management Digest published The Rural Business School has published its Farm Business Management Digest 2017, containing a brief summary of the economic situation in the South West England plus the benchmarking data from the Farm Business Survey for the 2015-2016 financial year. This report is available for purchase (£90 inc. VAT).

The 2017 edition of the Farm Business Management Digest, covers the financial years of 2015/16 which were particularly challenging for a number of sectors in the industry. The dairy sector was much in the news and notable for the significant changes in milk prices. The digest comprises of detailed information relating to hundreds of farms across the Government Office Region of South West England, namely Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.

The digest is intended to provide farmers, growers, students and advisors with a benchmarking tool for farm management decisions and commentary on farming for South West England.

It is regularly audited and assessed for its independence, authority and statistical accuracy.

The research information

2017 2012

The Farm Business Management Digest 2017 has just been published comes from the Farm Business Survey which is conducted by Rural Business Research, the Rural Business School (Duchy College and Bicton College) and the University of Reading and is funded by Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs.

If you would like a copy, please contact the RBS on 0845 458 7485 or by email at rbs@duchy.ac.uk

News Challenges for genome editing | The Biologist, January 2017 Increasing food production rates in farmed animals is a potential application of genome editing that requires urgent ethical scrutiny, according to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics. The Council investigated the recent and potential advances in genome editing across many areas of biological research. It found evidence that genome editing is already having an almost unprecedented impact on research and particularly the CRISPR gene-editing system (see our Winter 2016 issue for more details).

Gene-silencing spray lets us modify plants without changing DNA | New Scientist, 9 January 2017 Farmers might use gene-silencing sprays to boost yields, make their crops more nutritious, protect them from droughts and trigger ripening. The technique could enable plant traits to be changed without altering their DNA. “A spray can be used immediately without having to go through the years involved in development of a genetically modified or conventionally bred crop,” says David Baulcombe at the University of Cambridge, who studies gene silencing in plants. One spray can also be used on many different varieties. Gene silencing exploits a natural defence system. When viruses invade cells, the cells cut up some of the viral RNAs to make short pieces of double-stranded RNAs, which they use to recognise and destroy any RNAs with matching sequences. Without viral RNA, no viral proteins are made, so viruses cannot replicate. Current efforts are targeted on crop protection and researchers at Queensland University believe it offers a step change in environmentally sustainable crop protection.

Resistance fighters | The Biologist, January 2017 Just like bacteria, agricultural pests evolve resistance to the chemicals developed to control them.

Scientists at Syngenta’s Jeallot’s Hill Laboratories are constantly tackling the issue. The scale of the problem is staggering with resistance to 160 herbicides in 250 weed species affecting 86 crops in 66 countries according to the International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds. All major types of insecticides, herbicides and fungicides have significant resistance somewhere in the world. Most pesticides are synthetic Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 29

SWARM hub

Speak to AHDB variety specialists this summer The Cornwall AHDB Variety Open Day will be held on 22 June 2017 at Duchy College, Stoke Climsland.

Visitors will have a chance to speak to Cereals & Oilseeds variety specialists, and take a tour of on-farm trials of current and new crop varieties grown to AHDB Recommended Lists protocols.

The event runs from

page 30 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

10:00, with tours at regular intervals until the final tour at 14:00. Visitors can enjoy a free hot lunch after their tour of the crop sites.

The event is free to attend, although booking is encouraged. For further details please visit cereals. ahdb.org.uk

Duchy degree students advise the Minister for Agriculture A group of innovative current and former Duchy College agriculture degree students from across Devon and Cornwall have formed ‘Counties Connect’, a discussion group with the aim of continuing their own development as they enter the world of work and develop their businesses.

George Eustice (centre) met with the College students Representatives of the group were able to tour the Houses of Parliament and visit local MPs Neil Parish (EFRA Committee Chair) and George Eustice, (Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) in London. The MPs were so impressed by the students’ discussions around innovation that they were invited back for an ‘Innovative Young Farmers Workshop’ on 13th March to gather insights and views on what can be done by government and industry to enable more opportunities for new

entrants and the next generation of farmers to help inform future policy development post-Brexit.

The group put forward some well-thought out ideas for the discussions.

The key aim was how to ensure policies support farm business planning and what can be done to tackle barriers to entry and exit in farming, so that there are more opportunities for talented new entrants and next generation farmers in the future.

News continued from page 29 molecules which disrupt the biology of the target pest, usually through binding with a single target protein critical to the pest’s survival. Resistance evolves through prevention of access of the pesticide to the target protein (often the mechanism is an enzyme which breaks down the pesticide) or changes to the target protein itself which reduces sensitivity to the pesticide. Of particular worry is the development of multiple resistance mechanisms, as has happened in the UK with black-grass (Alopecurus myosuroides), which has evolved both metabolic and target –site resistance to many herbicides making it difficult to control.

Genetic mutations naturally occur and where this affects the individual weed’s ability to develop resistance to a pesticide, this will become the basis of resistance evolution. These mutations can occur across several genes. The rate at which this will spread through a population depends on many factors and is hard to predict and some pests seem to evolve resistance much more quickly than others. One solution is to develop new chemistries to act against novel target proteins. An alternative is to use DNAsequencing to monitor the development of resistance mutation in the pest. Simple diagnostic tests are now being developed e.g. Resistance In-Season Quick (RISQ) which can be used on seedlings collected from the farm. A different pesticide can then be used which will destroy the genotypes with resistance to the original pesticide and so prevent their spread. These can be used as part of integrated pest management, which also utilises crop rotation and biological control agents and encouragement of the pest’s natural enemies. Although much can be done, resistance is still a challenge and knowledge of resistance mechanisms is patchy.

Technology is flying on UK arable farms | Farming Futures, 17 March 2017 Over 30% of UK arable farms are now routinely using some form of ‘precision’ technology according to Agrovista. In recent years, tractors, sprayers, spreaders and combines are being sold with sensing, recording and measuring ‘extras’ now being supplied as standard; drones, cloud applications and software are now commonplace in many farm businesses.

Personal interest is encouraging investigation and investment in precision tools, primarily either by technically minded operators wanting more accurate measurement, or younger farmers opting Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 31

Young Farmers Club South West Area weekend

By Ruth Wills, Cornwall YFC

Around 1,600 young farmers descended on Newquay, Cornwall in early March for the annual Young Farmers South West Area weekend. Members from Cornwall, Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire attended the weekend and many participated in the various events and competitions.

Notably, the annual Agricultural and Rural Issues Forum, known as the Agri Forum was a hit with the young farmers.

This year the forum debated ‘Agriculture- Life in the public eye’, chaired

by Claire Bellew, Devon county chairman and Rural Chartered Surveyor for Kivells. Speakers included: George Eustice (Minister of State for Farming, Food and the Marine Environment), Julie Edwards (Head of Communications and Agricultural Affairs at Mole Valley Farmers), Richard Bower (NFU Next Generation Chairman) and Hilary Wood (Project Co-ordinator for the Cornwall Food and Farming Group).

The room was full of members both past and present which prompted lively debate. Up for discussion was use of marketing, social media, the positive and negative of being in the public eye, TV programmes and how we all play a part in the good promotion of agriculture in a day to day

also go through to the Southern Final.

With lots of celebrating to be done with a busy competition schedule, the parties saw Radio 1’s DJ Chris Stark on the decks who has since tweeted “Young Farmers are the best gigs ever”.

The Agri Forum was a big hit. Photo: Dan Rowe

role. Education was key with the discussion many times coming back to educating the public on where food comes from and promoting British produce and being proud of our animal welfare and agricultural practices.

The debate was wrapped up by explaining how positive it is that the NFU Next Gen and YFC are working together to promote farming for the next generation. George Eustice backed this saying young farmers today have a voice that should be heard in government and now with Brexit this voice is even more important and we should sieze this

page 32 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

opportunity to be heard.

On Saturday members engaged in various competitions, from public speaking, member of the year, to cheerleading, netball and hockey to name a few. On Sunday was the South West Area Entertainments Final in which Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset battled it out on the stage at the Hall For Cornwall, Truro, for which county would be going through to the next round. In what was sure to be a tough decision for the judges, Cornwall were awarded first place, putting them through to the next round, closely followed by Devon in second who will

Devon Young Farmers were the overall winners of the weekend, as they gained the most points in the competitions over the three days. Successes in junior reading and public speaking, cheerleading, street dance and County Chairman Claire Bellew, won senior member of the year. Thanks are due to Mole Valley Farmers for sponsoring the event. Ben Cavill, South West Area Chairman and a member of Falmouth YFC, Cornwall has said he couldn’t be prouder of the members of young farmers, the talent and skills seen in all competitions over the weekend and the discussion had in the Agri-forum puts the industry in good hands for the future.

Current vacancies Beef farm foreman West Cornwall Young person wanted to take over the dayto-day running of a 300-acre beef farm.

Possibilities for good candidates to gradually take over managerial responsibilities.

Dairy herdsman Mid-Cornwall Experienced and enthusiastic herdsman required to join team on a high-performing unit.

Trainee nutritionists Required by two animal feed companies Trainee animal breeding specialist Required by national company - locally based.

For further information, please contact the Rural Business School in the first instance on 0845 458 7485 or email rbs@duchy.ac.uk You can now claim Dairy Pro CPD points through The Rural Business School. Please contact BASIS to claim your Dairy Pro CPD points.

The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of the Rural Business School, Duchy College or The Cornwall College Group.

EST 2006 EBLEX WINNERS 2013 & 2014 CHeCS ACCREDITED FARM ASSURED GOLD STANDARD PERFORMANCE RECORDING 4

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News continued from page 31 to implement a more tech-driven management style when they take over managing farm businesses.

‘Precision’ covers a multitude of systems, from soil and yield mapping to variable-rate application of seed, spray and fertiliser, through to precise forecasting of weather and disease and machine automation or autosteer. Brisk advances in technology are making access to precision tools, easier, better and cheaper.

Drone developments are rapid; a year ago, the accurate mapping of blackgrass and brome would have required a high-end drone with an NOVI camera, costing around £10,000 and requiring a specialist operator. Today, a DJI drone that will produce a similar map with standard camera gear, will cost less than £1,000. Using it is simple - download the operating app to a smartphone and a whole farm can be weed mapped to a very detailed standard. Agrovista are investing in a cloud-based agronomy management service, bringing together data from disparate sources, including crop biomass data over the season, seed rate, spray and fertiliser mapping. This will not only facilitate decisions on variable crop treatments in the current crop, but also do so on the next crop.

The performance of organic agriculture | Science Advances 10 March 2017 Organic agriculture is often proposed as a more sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture.

Organic agriculture shows many potential benefits, including higher biodiversity, improved soil and water quality per unit area, enhanced profitability, and higher nutritional value as well as many potential costs including lower yields and higher consumer prices. Numerous important dimensions have high uncertainty, however, particularly the environmental performance when controlling for lower organic yields, but also yield stability, soil erosion, water use, and labour conditions. From a broad policy perspective, organic agriculture offers many benefits and could be an important part of a suite of strategies to improve the sustainability and equity of our food system.

In addition, the influence of organic agriculture extends beyond the 1% of agricultural land it covers at present. Many conventional farms have, in recent years, increased the use of organic practices such as conservation tillage, cover cropping, or composts.

A further expansion of organic agriculture and integrating successful organic management practices into conventional farming are important next steps.

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 33

Environmental Advice

The return of the cirl bunting!

By Helen Whitall, RSPB Cirl Bunting Project Here, Helen explains how farmers and conservationists saved Devon’s special farmland bird. Over the past 25 years, farmers across south Devon, and more recently in south Cornwall, have worked with the RSPB and Natural England to bring one of our rarest songbirds back from the brink. This is the story of how a special partnership involving hundreds of farmers saved the `village bunting’!

The historic decline Cirl buntings, relatives of the more familiar yellowhammer, were once widespread across much of England and Wales. However, they declined rapidly through the 20th century, mostly due to changes in agriculture driven by the policies of that time. By 1989, only 118 pairs were left, clinging on in south Devon traditional mixed farms near the coast.

“When I was told we had our cirl buntings back I couldn’t believe it!

It’s a great feeling to know that we must be doing something right for them to come back”

Identifying the problem – and the solutions RSPB researchers first worked to identify the causes of their decline.

They found that cirl buntings require dense hedgerows in which to nest, invertebrate-rich grassland to forage in during the summer, and seed-rich, weedy stubbles left through the winter and that the birds needed these habitats to be close together. These findings quickly turned into action to turn around the birds’ fortunes so farmers could once again give cirl buntings a home on their farms.

page 34 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

Options in the original Countryside Stewardship scheme enabled farmers to access support for cirl-friendly farming, including low-input grassland, hedge management and arable margins. In addition, a new option to support spring-sown barley left as winter stubble was added – the Cirl Bunting Special Project – and this prescription, which provides life-saving seed food over the long winter months, has been instrumental in the bird’s recovery. Alongside this, RSPB Cirl Bunting Project staff provided on-farm advice and guidance, enabling farmers to successfully apply for and implement the schemes.

Male cirl bunting in stubble. Photo: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com) Farmers act to help cirl buntings Farmers across the cirl bunting’s range have taken up the support enthusiastically. Since the project began, about 200 farmers have entered into agri-environment schemes to benefit the birds. The RSPB helped farmers put 10,000ha into Higher Level Stewardship scheme agreements. Today approximately 20,000ha of land is managed with cirl buntings in mind, including c1,000ha of winter stubble from spring sown barley. And

a great feeling to know that we must be doing something right for them to come back.”

the measures farmers have put in place are helping more than just the buntings; other farmland birds such as skylark, rare arable plants such as weasel’s snout, and brown hare are all present in the area and benefit from some of the habitat management for cirl buntings.

Farmers like Geoff Sayers who farms an organic dairy farm on the south Devon coast are rightly proud of what they have achieved. He says, “Since 1990 when we entered the Countryside Stewardship scheme we have seen a dramatic improvement in habitat and species – the cirl has certainly benefitted. We are now in a Higher Tier scheme and we have a survey due to occur this year – we hope to demonstrate lots of wildlife-friendly benefits.

Going forward I hope we find more ways to feed

1,000 cirl bunting voices now singing on farms

the growing population in a wildlife-friendly way.”

Pioneering reintroduction into Cornwall In addition to saving the Devon birds, the project reintroduced cirl buntings to the Roseland peninsula in Cornwall earlier this decade in a groundbreaking partnership project. This was done as a safeguard to reduce the vulnerability of the population, which until then had been entirely restricted to south Devon.

Now Cornwall hosts a growing number of cirl

`Cirl bunting farmers’ get first sight of maps showing its recovery. Photo: Matt Austin buntings, thanks not least to the many farmers who have provided the habitats they need via agri-environment agreements. From the initial release site they have expanded to new areas.

Adrian Glanville, who farms 200 acres on the Roseland Peninsula said, “When I was told we had our cirl buntings back I couldn’t believe it! It’s

In 2016, to mark 25 years of the Cirl Bunting Recovery Project, a national survey was carried out. A team of surveyors, including 40 volunteers, visited all known and possible areas of the cirl bunting’s range in the UK, once in the spring and again in the summer, and the results were mapped to locate all possible cirl territories.

The previous national survey in 2009 found 862 pairs. After all the hard work put in to protect and encourage the birds, it was hoped that numbers would finally have passed The recovery of the cirl bunting population between 1989 (118 pairs) and 2016 (1,078 pairs)

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 35

practices and built development. The RSPB Cirl Bunting Project staff continue to give land management advice, most recently via a facilitation fund for farmers in the Exe/Teign area.

1,000 pairs.

And it was good news!

The 2016 survey recorded 1,078 pairs (including 65 pairs in Cornwall), an increase of 900% over the 25 years of the project.

Cath Jeffs, RSPB Project Manager, who has worked to help cirl buntings for over 20 years, said, “It is extremely encouraging to see the cirl bunting population growing year on year, and to know that we now also have a self-sustaining population in Cornwall thanks to the successful reintroduction programme.”

Celebrating the role of farmers To celebrate this successful recovery and to say thank you to all the farmers whose efforts had made it possible, the RSPB held a special event at Dartington Hall near Dr Sarah Wollaston MP, cirl bunting champion, celebrates the efforts of all involved in saving the cirl bunting. Photo: Matt Austin

Totnes in November 2016.

Farmers were invited to attend a morning guided walk around the estate, itself managed for cirl buntings, before enjoying a buffet lunch and presentations about the project’s success. Other important guests included Dr Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes and cirl bunting champion.

Attendees John and Jane Tucker, who have an organic mixed farm overlooking Bigbury Bay, said of the day, “We have had a wonderful time. We have enjoyed meeting up with so many, and hearing of the huge success of the project.

Farmers enjoy a walk around the Dartington Hall Estate. Photo: Matt Austin We can’t believe it has been 25 years – what a wonderful thing to be a part of.”

Cath Jeffs said, “The cirl bunting project has shown what can be achieved when people work together: farmers, conservationists, wildlife enthusiasts, partner organisations and government have all come together to ensure this beautiful bird was not lost. To go back to farms where the birds were either absent or struggling and now find thriving cirl populations has been extremely rewarding, as has knowing that the farmers are as thrilled as I am.”

The future While cirl bunting numbers have recovered well, the bird is still geographically restricted, and vulnerable to change in land management

page 36 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

Maintaining a sustainable population requires continued support for cirl-friendly farming and these birds and other farmland wildlife may face an uncertain future in post-Brexit Britain. But with the right schemes in place to allow farmers to continue to meet the birds’ needs on their land, cirl buntings will continue to thrive.

For more information on cirl buntings’ requirements, and how to manage land effectively to benefit these birds, download the RSPB’s advisory factsheet for farmers and landowners: https://tinyurl.com/ jt2c8hw If you would like to know more about cirl buntings or to get involved in the project please visit www.rspb.org.uk or email Cath.Jeffs@rspb. org.uk

What Cirl Buntings need The Big Three for cirl-friendly farms: 1.

2.

Photo: RSPB

Photo: RSPB

Nest sites

Summer food

Cirl buntings need thick, well-maintained hedges or scrub, cut on a rotation around the site and avoiding the breeding season, March to mid September.

Cirls need low-input and ideally species-rich grassland with a varied structure in which to forage for food to feed their chicks - grasshoppers and crickets are especially important cirl food.

3.

Photo: RSPB

Singing male cirl bunting. Photo: Andy Hay (rspbimages.com)

Winter food Through the winter, cirls need small seeds. Weed-rich spring barley stubble, left in the field until March, is ideal but they will also use weedy field margins and wild bird seed mix.

Safe nesting sites, lots of insects in spring and summer, and seeds over winter are important for many other farmland birds, including other buntings, finches and larks. Farmers who provide The Big Three on at least 10% of their farm holding will help many farmland birds and other wildlife.

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 37

Market Monitor

DairyCo provides a brief overview of the latest economic developments in the dairy industry and also highlights recent research and projects undertaken by DairyCo that may interest dairy farmers and students in the south west.

“...the UK is one of the most valuable global markets for dairy...”

UK is largest dairy customer for EU-27 After Brexit, the UK would be the EU’s largest customer for dairy products, if trade continued at recent levels. The UK imported around £2.5bn worth of dairy produce from the EU-27* during 2015. This is equal to around 20% of EU-27’s total global exports.

Despite excellent milk producing credentials, the UK has the second largest net dairy deficit in the world, behind China.

page 38 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

This trade deficit is largely driven by cheese imports, which made up around half of the value of the UK’s total dairy imports

in 2015. It also imports significant quantities of infant formula, butter, yoghurts and buttermilk.

As a result, the UK is one

of the most valuable global markets for dairy and will be a key target for many dairy exporting nations.

In a future article, AHDB will look at which EU Member States rely most heavily on the UK for their dairy exports. *EU-27 refers to the current EU Member States with the

UK excluded †Dairy products included are cheese, butter, butteroil, whey, buttermilk and fermented products, yoghurt, concentrated milk, powders, milk and

cream, infant formula (includes some starchbased infant products due to commodity code overlap) and ice cream.

Get in shape to manage risks Dairy farmers are being encouraged to attend one of a series of AHDB Dairy risk management workshops across England as part of a Defra initiative funded under the EU Adjustment Aid Scheme. Open to all livestock farmers in England, the workshops will support them to identify and mitigate the risks facing their business and they will be given an opportunity to sign up for a funded one-to-one on farm consultation to receive a personalised action plan.

The first stage of the programme offers a series of workshops across England focussing on: •

How they can access 1:1 fully funded onfarm advisor support

•

Understanding the five pillars of managing risk

•

Why having goals and objectives are critical and how they can set theirs

•

Identifying areas of their business to focus on

At the workshops, farmers can register for a one-

to-one consultation with a business advisor experienced in risk management on farm.

This will give them a 3-4 hour session in which the advisor will work with them to complete an analysis of the areas they identified in the workshop and will produce with them an action plan to work on.

It will also be used in the final workshop to drive the discussion on how practically they can make changes. This will be followed by a review session in the final stages.

AHDB also ran a webinar which will be made available on-line throughout April for anyone who could not attend and register at a group session.

The programme is aimed at livestock farmers or managers in England who are responsible for long term planning of their business and want to identify and manage risk in their business.

Rachael Chamberlayne, AHDB Dairy’s Technical Manager, who will be one of the speakers at the

workshops, said, “We all know that dairy farmers have had an extremely difficult time recently, which is why resilience and competitiveness feature heavily in AHDB’s strategy. This initiative is one way we can help farmers plan for the future and thrive in a post-Brexit world.”

For more information on the scheme or to find out about your nearest meeting visit: www.dairy.ahdb.org. uk/risk

Sustainable approaches to livestock health and welfare

Spring 2017 | The Rural Business School | page 39

Diary Dates Course title

Date/Time

Venue

County

Cost

Contact

21/04/17 10amUsing faecal egg counting in your herd 3pm or flock

DCS

RBS Cornwall £70 (including MiniFLOTAC kit)

Beekeeping for beginners

22/04/1706/05/17 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £165

RBS

Farm Crap App – Where are we now

25/04/17 6.308.30pm

DCS

Cornwall FREE

RBS

Introduction to Floristry

25/04/1716/05/17 6.308.30pm

DCR

Cornwall £85

RBS

Farm Crap App – Where are we now

27/04/17 6.308.30pm

BIC

Devon

FREE

RBS

28/04/17 10amUsing faecal egg counting in your herd 3pm or flock

BIC

Devon

RBS £70 (including MiniFLOTAC kit)

Next steps in beekeeping

03-17/06/17 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £125

RBS

Introduction to cheese making

13/07/17 9am5pm

DCS

Cornwall £90

RBS

Leadership and Management Programme (LAMP)

23-28/10/17 9am-5pm

Keele University

Staffs

Price on application

RBS

22nd Challenge of Rural Leadership course

07-20/01/18 8.30am-10pm

Dartington Devon Hall, Totnes, TQ9 6EL

Price on application

RBS

PA1 & PA2 Principles of safe pesticide application

TBC

DCS

Cornwall Please enquire

RBS

PA1 and PA6 Principles TBC of safe pesticide application

DCS

Cornwall Please enquire

RBS

For more information Agriculture general

Dairy

Beef

Sheep

Poultry

Arable/Crop Production

Resource Management

Machinery

Pets

CPD

Countryside

Rural Crafts

page 40 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2017

Please call 0845 458 7485 or email rbs@duchy.ac.uk for more information.

Our full list of events is available at: www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk DCR - Duchy College Rosewarne DCS - Duchy College Stoke Climsland BIC - Bicton College