The Rural Business School ISSUE 55 - SUMMER 2020
BVD - STAMP IT OUT!
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Agri-tech Cornwall Soil Carbon Precision Dairy Lamb production costs
Editorial
“Maybe this will generate a new found respect for the value and importance of farmers, farming and the food supply chain.”
At the time of writing, we have just experienced two weeks without a drop of rain, following a period of seven months with a maximum of two days without rain; in normal times, such weather patterns would have dominated our ‘Industry comments’ (page 3). The hive of activity in the fields to catch up with fieldwork compares eerily with the silence elsewhere following the ‘lockdown’ broadcast on 23rd March. This came just after we had decided to go to press and the ensuing relocation of offices from College to homes has led to significant delays - apologies to our contributors. Our main aim is to advise how to receive funded assistance to combat Bovine Viral Diarrhoea disease (BVD). Dr Richard Booth of the Royal Veterinary College, tells us how easy it should be to eradicate (page 8). Dr Booth piloted a Bovine Viral Diarrhoea eradication scheme, which was the model developed under the RBS’s Healthy Livestock project and now rolled out across England as BVD Stamp It Out (page 4). Make the most of the funding while it’s available! Other highlights
Director: Richard Soffe FRAgS page 2 | The Rural Business School | Summer 2020
are our Farm Business Survey’s article on lamb production (page 35) and Agri-tech Cornwall’s innovative research activities. Projects like Soil Carbon (page 12) have direct relevance to future support to agriculture through the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme. The pandemic lockdown has highlighted the change in UK eating habits and the rise in the importance of the ‘food service’ sector. Pre-23rd March, food service was responsible for 40% of food sales (£57bn). The shutdown has presented a real challenge to the retail sector to take up such a large percentage of the market. The seven dominant retailers have become specialists in predicting consumers’ needs and arranging just-in-time supply chains; not surprisingly they were unable to cope with an increase in purchases as consumers stocked store cupboards and freezers in March. The increase was only 20%, meaning that every consumer bought an extra six days’ worth of provisions - hardly ‘panic-buying’ - more that retailers were caught out by studying their models based on past experience, rather than
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looking ahead; at least this has enabled local outlets and farm shops an opportunity to partly fill the gap. The change in eating habits and concurrent loss of traditional culinary skills has led to a lack of demand for the prime cuts of beef, despite many consumers having more time on their hands. The demand for lamb has been affected by families not coming together in larger groups at Easter nor for Ramadan, which falls in April and May this year with its daytime fasting and night-time feasting. The situation has not been helped by the difficulties of instigating social distancing in many abattoirs. Likewise milk producers supplying processors servicing the food service sector have had serious problems and consequently all have suffered from lowered milk prices. On the positive side, concern about food supply has highlighted the fragility of our food security and underlined the key role played by UK agriculture. Maybe this will generate a new found respect for the value and importance of farmers, farming and the food supply chain. Paul Ward
www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk
ARABLE: What an autumn and what a winter! As we are in polite company, let’s just call it “challenging”. The weather broke on 21st September, just as we were about to start drilling. Since then the rain has been relentless. Our planned drilling has been compromised. Oats were drilled in reasonable conditions in October, the Winter Barley was forced into the ground in December and the headlands tell the story! Ever hopeful that we would have a dry spell in January, I was still not panicking about the wheat. How wrong I was it remains neatly stacked in 500kg bags in the store and now has a pile of spring barley seed that was never in the budget stacked alongside to keep it company. So, a first in my farming career when I have not managed to complete my planned autumn drilling and have NO wheat drilled. This season demonstrated that my establishment system, based around a Vaderstad Rapid, was less flexible than the power harrow drill combi run directly behind the plough. Is this an exceptional year or will we face similar weather patterns in the future? With climate change in mind and as we start to think about moving to net zero, a review of crop establishment systems is on my to-do list.
For once the uncertainty of the weather is not my main concern. The issues facing the industry now we have left the EU and government has to negotiate trade deals will be far reaching for the industry. With a new agricultural bill, the phasing out of BPS payments and new environmental schemes to be delivered, I doubt there has ever been a period of greater uncertainty for farming. One thing I do know, after yesterday’s budget, is that we have never needed a lobby organisation for farmers more than we do now. The Chancellor named the NFU in his budget speech as the reason why agriculture retained its access to Red Diesel. That decision has repaid my annual subscription more than 10x this year. In fact thinking about it, in such a difficult time, my NFU subscription is probably the best investment that I have made in my business this year. Mike Hambly, Westcott Farm Partnership, Callington. ANIMAL FEEDS: ‘Rain, Rain, Rain,’ seems to sum up the last few months, which bring their own challenges. Slurry pits are generally full/overflowing. One farmer reported that 1.1m of his slurry pit was rain water; subsequently he is putting a roof
over his pit and yard. Getting fertiliser out for those who cut early on a multi-cut system looks challenging and 1st cut quality could be interesting; luckily covers aren’t bad and quantity shouldn’t be too bad unless grazed with sheep. The last few days are drier with next week looking dry. Is this the turn? I hope so. Cows could be turned out soon taking pressure off silage quantity and bedding costs. Winter cereals are looking patchy so a good spring is key to help with feed costs. David Northcott, Three Counties Feeds. BEEF & LAMB: As I’m writing this (26th March), there is a lot of uncertainty in the red meat market due to the Covid 19 pandemic; lamb price has fallen £1/kg over the last few days and there is talk of a reduction in the beef price. Export markets for sheep have fallen dramatically and with restaurants, cafés etc. closing, the high-end beef cuts sales are struggling. Keeping the supermarket/ shop/butcher shelves full is critical, but with reduced levels of staff at distribution centres and some abattoirs, this is an on-going challenge. CQLP DAIRY: Here we are amidst a pandemic, the effects of which have reached the supermarket Continued on page 30.
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. Please note, these comments were submitted in midMarch.
“...we have never needed a lobby organisation for farmers more than we do now.”
For more information If you would like to share your views in a future issue, please contact Rachel Abrahall on 0845 458 7485 or email rachel. abrahall@duchy.ac.uk
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RBS News
BVD Stamp It Out Project
By Holly Yelland, BVD Stamp It Out Training Co-ordinator What is Bovine Viral Diarrhoea (BVD)? Bovine Viral Diarrhoea is an endemic disease which affects cattle. The disease costs dairy and beef businesses an estimated £61 million per year through the loss of performance, infertility, mortalities and slower growth rates; in a herd, one Persistently Infected (PI) animal could be the cause. PI animals can appear completely normal with good growth rates and be healthy. Alternatively, animals can fail to thrive from birth, with low weight gains being extremely susceptible to diseases such as scour and pneumonia. Furthermore, PI cows can be prone to reproductive losses through early embryonic death, returns at service and abortions. As a result of this it makes it extremely difficult for a farmer to know whether they have a problem or not. How does BVD spread? BVD spreads through two different ways depending if the animal is pregnant or not. Scenario 1: Nonpregnant animals Scenario 1 includes bulls, which make up
“The disease costs dairy and beef businesses an estimated £61 million per year”
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about 1% of PI animals. Whereby the disease cannot be spread through Artificial Insemination (AI) because all the bulls are tested, but can be spread through faeces, urine, saliva, mucous and sperm of the bull through natural service.
Scenario 2: Pregnant animals The real problem is when pregnant animals are infected with BVD. A PI animal will always be a PI animal and will always Scenario 1: Non-pregnant animals
produce persistently infectious calves of her own. BVD Stamp It Out project DEFRA has made available £5.7 million of funding through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), with the aim of raising the profile of the BVD virus in England. The project engages veterinarians and farmers to investigate BVD at farm level, creating action plans to control, reduce and eliminate the disease. Opportunities also arise to discuss matters with other likeminded farmers, discussing the most effective ways to manage and eradicate the disease.
“This project is free to beef and dairy farmers in England as long as the farm has a CPH and an SBI number.”
in England as long as the farm has a CPH and an SBI number. The five-step process of BVD Stamp It Out: • Cluster meeting one: Involves a group of farmers learning about the project and BVD itself. •
•
Testing This project will fund vets time through the RDPE, with further funding available for the check test of up to £61.80. In addition, 20% of cattle farmers will be eligible to undertake a PI hunt, if eligible, of up to £440. This project is free to beef and dairy farmers
•
Vet on-farm visit one: Focus on BVD on the farm and involves check testing animals. Vet on-farm visit two: Discuss findings of the check test, which may lead to a PI animal hunt. Although regardless of the outcome every farm will have a plan of how to reduce, eliminate and prevent the disease is produced for each farm. Cluster meeting two: Further involvement
of groups of farmers sharing ideas, findings and control strategies of the BVD disease. •
Project survey: About six months after the project, farmers will be asked to complete a short survey on the project.
South west performance with 12 months to go Figure 1 (overleaf ) represents south west farms engaged in the BVD Project. Duchy College’ Rural Business School alongside 42 vet practices in the south west have signed up just over 2,100 beef and dairy farms on to the BVD Stamp It Out Project. This is a massive 77% of the south west’s overall target, with lots of work projected to occur
Scenario 2: Pregnant animals within the next couple of months. The total breeding cattle involved in the project currently stands at 257,674, with another nine months of delivery still available. South west vet practices case studies Case study 1: South Moor Vets To set the scene, this farm previously had BVD in their herd but had tested and become clear, it was normally a closed herd. Due to the free testing and vet time the farmer decided to take part in BVD Stamp It Out scheme. After the farmer had attended their first cluster meeting a vet went out to the farm to complete the check test. Although
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when completing the youngstock antibody test they found positive antibodies, this was both very surprising for the farmer and the vet. As a result of this, the farm was granted a PI hunt; it was not until this that the farmer suspected that the BVD problem could have come on to the farm through some Dexter cows which the farmer had bought for his daughter. During the PI hunt one Persistently Infected animal was found on the farm which was the offspring of a Trojan cow. A Trojan cow is an animal that is BVD clear herself, but has become infected during the early stages of pregnancy; because of this, the cow becomes immune to BVD, but the calf is a persistently
infected animal. Due to this, the calf was culled off the farm and the farm is now tag and testing all of their calves. The farmer with the Trojan cow explains, “This free scheme has been very useful; it has meant we found the BVD PI animal much more quickly and efficiently”. A vet from South Moor Vets said, “This scheme has been great, both in education and controlling BVD, but also increasing farmer participation through giving us time on farm to tackle BVD”. Case study 2: North Park Veterinary Group The first herd from North Park Veterinary Group is a South Devon suckler herd; running 60 cows and two bulls. The farm is nearly a closed herd
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but occasionally buys bulls which are health tested and bought through accredited BVD and Johne’s free herds. Throughout the summer months cattle are grazing and housed during the winter months; they mainly calve in March and April. In 2017, the vets completed a youngstock check test for BVD, which was negative, although in 2018 the farm missed their annual BVD check test. In 2019, the farm joined the BVD Stamp It Out Project, and their check test showed that seven out of the 10 animals had positive antibodies. Furthermore, with the three animals which had been negative for antibodies were positive for ELISA BVD Ag
and four weeks later were confirmed PIs. This result was extremely surprising for both the vet and farmer when considering the clear results from two years previously. As a result of these findings a PI hunt was completed in conjunction the farm’s bovine Tuberculosis (bTB) test, a month later. An additional 13 animals were positive PI animals on ELISA Ag. Furthermore, all of the calves born in 2019 were negative, with all of the PI animals being born in spring 2018, indicating the cows had contact with a PI when they were in early pregnancy, outdoors.
Figure 1: South west farms engaged with the BVD Project
During the BVD Stamp It Out Project, this farm found positive antibodies in their check test and completed a PI hunt finding 16 confirmed Persistently Infected animals. As part of the BVD project process, the vet and farmer had discussions regarding reasons for how the disease had come on to the farm. The farmer confirmed that his neighbour’s cattle often break into the field next to his cattle and occasionally in with his cattle. His neighbour buys and sells a lot of young cattle and their BVD status is unknown. This is expected to be the reason for the BVD outbreak. Due to this finding, the farmer has now vaccinated all breeding stock and is tag and testing all newborn calves; no PIs have been found so far. Case study 3: North Park Veterinary Group The final farm is also a client of North Park Veterinary Group; it is a 250-cow dairy herd, with an additional 20 cow suckler herd. They use both Artificial Insemination (AI) and natural service on their dairy herd, also breeding and rearing their own replacements but will also buy in cows from market if the price is right. During the BVD Stamp It Out Project, for their sentinel test, a mixture
of dairy heifers and beef yearlings were sampled and two out of 10 had positive antibodies. As a result of this, a PI hunt was approved. Firstly a bulk milk sample was taken and blood sampling occurred on dry cows, beef cows and dairy replacement heifers; all of these came back negative. Since the total herd size is over 400 animals and the beef youngstock are kept at a different farm, it was decided to only sample breeding animals (and the odd steer that is in their group). The vet emphasized the need to ensure that there was to be no contact between unsampled and tested clear animals. This obviously relies on good management and is not waterproof, so on most farms it is best to try and test every animal. After testing, no PIs were found which was difficult to understand for the farmer, and explaining about positive calves
in negative cows was a challenge for the vet.
Image by Ben Odbert, Vet for South Moor Vets
The farmer agreed to tag and test all calves born after the blood test. Interestingly within the first batch of tag & test after the PI hunt they had a positive result; this implies the importance of not just stopping testing after a PI hunt. Retesting this calf confirmed this was indeed a PI, although the calf had been very ill and died before the blood test result had
come through. As a result of the testing and work completed by North Park Veterinary Group through the BVD Stamp It Out Project, the farmer is now keen to test all calves and is aware that the problem can be hidden in negative cows.
For more information If you would like to get involved, or require any information about the BVD Stamp It Out Project please contact the following; Email: holly.yelland@duchy.ac.uk Phone: 01579 372367 Post: Holly Yelland, Rural Business School, Duchy College, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall, PL17 8PB. Otherwise contact your local veterinary practice who may be able to help. Thank you for all your hard work throughout the project so far, from all of the BVD Stamp It Out Team at the Rural Business School, Duchy College.
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Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus - Eradication is a real possibility By Dr Richard Booth, Associate Professor in Veterinary Extension Services and Infectious Diseases of Cattle, Royal Veterinary College
Bovine Viral Diarrhoea Virus (BVDV) is a disease that affects cattle worldwide. The strains of BVD present in the UK often do not cause overt disease, but they do underlie significant fertility and secondary disease issues within an infected herd. So if fertility is not quite good enough i.e. abortion rates just a bit too high or return rates higher than you would like and other diseases, particularly in calves, seem just that bit more severe or occur too frequently, then BVD may be the issue. National BVD Programmes Over the last 20 years, momentum for national programmes to control and eradicate BVD has been building. A number of European countries have successfully achieved BVD freedom and many more are now embarking on national programmes to remove the disease. Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark were the first to successfully eradicate BVD nationally. Switzerland, and closer to home, Scotland and Ireland are all entering the end stages of their national programmes with recent data from Scotland suggesting only 7-10% of Scottish herds are now testing positive for BVD – a decrease from up to 40% at the start of their programme. It is important that England does not get left behind and although we have a national scheme, in
BVDFree England (www. bvdfree.org.uk), and available seed funding through ‘Stamp it Out’ (www.sruc.ac.uk/BVD), we need to increase uptake to build the momentum of a successful English programme. How Easy is BVD to Eradicate
Having had a particular interest in BVD since I became a farm vet, I have worked closely with farmers across the south west over the last 16 years to study and eradicate this disease. As a result, it is easy for me to say that it is simple to eradicate BVD from a farm and keep it out once free (and many of you will already be free), but the truth is that with a little thought it is a relatively simple disease to deal with and can offer a quick win. The available BVD tests are accurate, easy to use and interpret and this makes it possible to eradicate BVD page 8 | The Rural Business School | Summer 2020
from an infected herd in a relatively short period; 1218 months if committed. Contrast this to Johne’s disease, where the tests are not so easy to use and interpretation not always clear cut and for some heavily infected herds it, could take 8-10 years to reach Johne’s freedom, whilst maintaining herd numbers and sensible cull rates. The Importance of Persistently Infected Animals When controlling BVD, the primary focus has to be on persistently infected (PI) animals. These animals are born as lifelong BVD carriers and if you have them in your herd or unknowingly buy one in, then the results can be quite devastating, even if not immediately obvious. The good news is that in my experience PI animals only account for a relatively low number of animals,
so we do not need to cull huge numbers to remove the disease. We found a maximum of 3% of animals PI in heavily infected herds, although there are a few occasions where this figure will be higher. PI animals often look normal and shed the virus in all secretions (nasal secretions, saliva, urine, faeces, milk in females and semen in bulls) leading to infection of any animal they come into contact with. Common examples of the effects of infection of normal animals could be pregnant animals aborting or simply early returns to service or higher rates of pneumonia in calf groups. We all know how expensive these events can be and the losses they can cause. Vaccination and enhanced biosecurity are tools we can use to mitigate these effects, but in order to truly control the disease, PI animals
must be removed from infected herds and kept out of BVD free herds. Figure 1 shows a PI heifer (circled in red) that we identified on one farm I was working on – on the face of it she appears normal, but when we looked closer at her records, she was almost 9 months older than the other animals she is mixed with in the picture and consistently failed to conceive – she should have been culled much earlier on these grounds alone, but keeping her back with younger bulling heifers meant she was having a negative effect on fertility in these animals too. Four Stages of Eradication In trying to organise my advice to farmers on the control of BVD, I try to break the process down into four stages. 1. Assess Herd: What do you want to achieve? 2. Define Herd Status: What is your current status? 3. Action Plan: What is our plan if your herd is infected? What do we do to protect your herd if already free? 4. Monitor Progress: What is an effective surveillance plan for your herd? At each stage, working closely with your vet will help achieve the best success in the shortest
time and at the best cost. They are described in more detail on the BVDFree England website and given the acronym ‘ADAM’ (www.bvdfree.org. uk/the-scheme/) What do you want to achieve? At this point, it is vital to establish what your aims are with regard to BVD control. Do you simply want to control the disease and live with it in your herd? Is eradication your aim? Do you want to eradicate and become accredited free of the disease using one of the CHeCS accredited schemes (www.checs. co.uk/)? At the same time, we should also consider the biosecurity risks to your herd and the way that you use BVD vaccines to control the disease. What is your current status? This can often be determined with a relatively low number of tests and without too much expense. Personally I feel that establishing the status of your herd is paramount as this decides whether you are free of the disease and therefore need to focus efforts on protecting that status with good biosecurity and effective vaccination, or whether your herd is infected and therefore needs resources focussed on identifying and removing the PI animals within your herd.
What is our plan if your herd is infected? What do we do to protect your herd if already free? If infected, this step hinges around the detection and removal of PI animals and developing an effective and cost efficient way to test all animals is vital at this stage. Vaccination alone is unlikely to remove the disease from your herd, but may lessen the clinical signs observed. When BVD free, the emphasis switches to protecting your herd and ensuring that your vaccination and biosecurity measures are robust. Effective vaccine schedules need to be carefully planned to ensure that all susceptible animals are vaccinated at the correct time to ensure they have immunity during pregnancy. Identification of the biosecurity risks that are particular to your herd (such as bought in stock, including bulls, and contact with neighbouring cattle) will enable you to develop effective biosecurity
Figure 1: PI circled protocols that fit in with your herd and work for you. What is an effective surveillance plan for your herd? This step requires the development of an effective surveillance plan to ensure that once BVD free your herd remains that way. The plan needs to effectively monitor the herd, be performed regularly and most importantly fit in with you and your herd management and structure. In the next newsletter, I will provide more detail on the issues surrounding each of these questions, particularly on the importance of the PI animal, the tests available to determine herd status, the tests we can use to find PIs if they are present and the biosecurity principles that need to be considered to protect your herd against a number of diseases including BVD.
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ERDF grant accelerates pioneering AgriTech sector By Tim Relf
From forest to field and from moor to shore – that’s the far-reaching scope of an initiative accelerating agri-tech research, development and innovation across the south west.
The £11.8m Agri-tech Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Project (ACP) is a unique programme which runs to June 2021, designed to fast track the creation of new products, processes and services in the agritech sector.
“The initiative is set to bring a real boost to the individuals and families who live and work in the south west” Harnessing such varied disciplines as science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine, it’s working across areas as diverse as robotics, software, big data, genetic screening, nutrition and disease control. Specific activities range from building robots to help with harvesting
vegetables and creating an app offering farmers advice on making the most of their manure, to developing ‘Future Farm’, a research platform for a healthy, green ‘hoof print’ approach to dairying. Supported by Cornwall College, Cornwall Development Company, the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth and Rothamsted Research – and with match-funding from Cornwall Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly – ACP is already partnering with over 50 businesses and developing proposals with over 20 more. The themes cluster
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around such important topics as dairy cattle health and welfare; maximising soil, water and nutrient use efficiency; speciality crop production; and using technology to drive productivity. Backed by a £8.9m ERDF grant, it offers free participation in larger research, development and innovation projects; innovation grants from £2,500 to £25,000 for smaller initiatives (including feasibility studies, consultancy costs and equipment purchases); plus salary subsidies for some graduate placements.
“It’s a hugely broad spectrum driving efficiency, profitability and resilience in the agricultural sector, plus helping it enhance and protect the natural environment,” says ACP director Robin Jackson, of Duchy College’s Rural Business School. “We’re already backing a range of exciting work that could change the way we farm in the south west and potentially have national or even global benefits – helping farmers use phosphorus fertiliser in a more profitable and environmentally friendly way, harvesting sea and coastal plants, and ‘making’ soil, to name just three,” says Robin.
“ACP is utilising the pioneering thinking of the region’s scientists, academics, business community and rural entrepreneurs, kickstarting new ventures and supply chains, the legacy of which will bring economic and social benefits long into the future,” he says. The initiative is set to bring a real boost to the individuals and families Aerial view of Future Farm at Duchy College, Stoke Climsland
who live and work in the south west by boosting productivity, growth and employment, while helping the region – and the UK more generally – become a global leader in agricultural technology and sustainability. “In addition to playing its part in feeding the world’s growing population in a sustainable way, the initiative will help cement the reputation of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly as places where cutting-edge technology is put to use in a host of
real-world applications in the agricultural, horticultural and food sectors.”
“This fund is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for applicants”
The project is still on the lookout for more proposals to support, with ambitious small and medium-sized businesses in the landbased sector, along with the ancillary industries, food firms, educational establishments and research centres all potentially eligible for research and financial support and help recruiting new
research talent into their businesses. “The proposal does not have to be directly targeted at farmers – it can add value to farm suppliers or consultants, processors, distributors and even retailers and consumers, so long as the innovation helps in sustainable production and getting produce to market. “This fund is a once-in-alifetime opportunity for applicants – and we look forward to hearing from them.”
For more information
For more information about ACP’s work and how you might be able to benefit, see www. agritechcornwall. co.uk
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The Soil Carbon Project
By Alex Bebbington, Research Assistant Agriculture’s contribution and ability to combat climate change has become a very topical subject. Both the UK government and the NFU have published Net Zero plans with a focus on agriculture’s role. These plans include farming’s ability to sequester carbon in the soils through increasing organic matter, and so we need to know how to measure this and which practices maximise sequestration.
The Soil Carbon Project, which is a collaboration between the Rural Business School, Rothamsted Research and the University of Plymouth, and funded by Agri-Tech Cornwall, aims to contribute to this aspiration by researching and developing the most suitable tools for assessing soil health and carbon levels. This will enable us to practically monitor the impact of different farming practices and
to implement equitable systems for future farm carbon payments. By working with almost 70 farms on nearly 400 fields, the Duchy College team is building up an understanding of the variation in organic matter across different field types. To date, preliminary results indicate that fields that
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have been disturbed less (permanent pasture) have higher levels of organic matter and therefore carbon, compared to fields that are disturbed more regularly (i.e. horticulture and arable). However, organic matter is only one part of a healthy soil. There must also be good soil structure and biological
activity. To assess this, we have been looking into “proxy indicators” of soil health, which include soil structure, worm counts, infiltration rates, and aggregate stability. Importantly, these proxy indicators can be done quickly and easily in the field. The rate at which water infiltrates soil can be
a reflection of soil structure and our results on water infiltration rate and soil structure assessment to date suggest that generally permanent pasture and temporary grass leys are more compacted than arable and horticulture fields. This situation presents an interesting challenge as to how to alleviate compaction while minimising soil disturbance (and therefore a loss of carbon). As the project progresses, we hope to have some more data on the impacts of different cultivation techniques. It is important to note that some of the differences between grass and arable could also be a reflection of difference in soil type, as some soils are better suited for cropping than others. Rothamsted Research North Wyke are testing the suitability of the common soil sampling technique. It is standard practice to walk a W-pattern across a field, sampling at 15 points and bulking these into a bucket. However, this method may not always capture the variation in organic matter across all fields. To test this, the research team have been sampling in a grid pattern of up to 100 points across a subset of the sampled fields. The data are being fed into a model that identifies
monitoring field management techniques and the testing of new products.
the most optimal sampling pattern for each individual field and so the outputs from this work will enable more reliable information on soil quality. The team at the University of Plymouth have been investigating the suitability of standard lab analysis methods for measuring soil organic matter. This has involved comparing the traditional oven drying temperature of 450°C with a quicker burn of 550°C, which speeds up the process and hence enables more samples to be analysed. Together, the teams at Plymouth and Rothamsted are conducting work into comparing soil analysis results from different labs. This aims to provide confidence that different labs are comparable in the way they analyse soil samples. The researchers at Plymouth have also been looking into the relationship, across a range of soil types and quality, between total nutrients in a soil sample
Soil sampling in action at a farm near Lifton and comparing this with the nutrients that would be available to a growing crop. A key goal of the wider Agri-Tech Cornwall project is to develop research and innovation within the agri-tech sector in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. To this end, to date, the Soil Carbon project has been working with a range of businesses and organisations, including Westcountry Rivers Trust, the Farm Carbon Consultancy, SouthWest Farm Consultants, Grigg’s Country Stores, Regenerative Food and Farming Cornwall, Greenyard Flowers, Duchy of Cornwall and Cornwall Council. Some of the benefits of involvement to these organisations include the acquisition of carbon footprinting skills and tools, the development of soil assessment protocols,
During the remainder of the project, a key task is to complete a carbon audit on the monitored farms so as to not only relate soil carbon status with field management, but also with the overall carbon footprint of the farm business. This will provide solid data on the relationship between farming practices, soil health and carbon sequestration potential. Thank you to all our fantastic farmers for helping us in this research.
For more information For more information visit www.swarmhub. co.uk/soil-carbonproject
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The ‘Farm Crap App’ Professional – the next generation of on farm decision – support tools! By Dr Chris Hodgson, Sustainable Agriculture Sciences
The new version, ERDF-funded via the Agri-tech Cornwall project, means farmers can plug in farm, crop and manure information to get the nutrient values they need and an estimate of the cost savings against bag fertiliser.
* New version of popular App focuses on wholefarm nutrient planning * Contractors’, consultants’ and farmers’ needs are met * Good manure management will boost farm profits and safeguard the environment * Easy-to-use technology makes in-the-field decision-making possible * Strengthening the long-term collaboration between, Duchy College Rural Business School, FoAM Kernow and Rothamsted Research North Wyke. Originally funded and launched in 2012 as part of the SWARM initiative www.swarmhub. co.uk, this free-touse smartphone app contained a calculator and built-in image library, enabling farmers to work out a ‘fertiliser equivalent’ at different spreading
rates and so refine their manure, slurry and poultry litter applications. The first version of the app was very successful; with more than 2,500 downloads and winning the Soil Association Innovation Award in 2014, as well as reaching the finals of the Farmers Guardian’s Agri-Innovation Den
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2015. The app’s success secured more funding from Rothamsted Research, through its technical innovation programme, supported by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The funding saw the launch of the ‘Pro’ version, at Grassland and Muck in 2017. This new version had even greater functionality and was
“The first version of the app was very successful; with more than 2,500 downloads” rapidly accepted, with downloads approaching 1,000. The latest version builds on the app’s existing
strengths by becoming a whole-farm nutrient planning tool, containing all the data from the latest version of AHDB’s Nutrient Management Guide (RB209), which gives the book values for nutrients required to provide the best financial return for different crops. It has an updated intuitive mapping function to clearly define field boundaries and add ‘spreading events’. Perhaps the most advanced new feature is its capacity to share information without resorting to sharing data with the cloud. This is achieved through its novel end to end encryption, allowing data to pass to multiple users without data being casually readable. The Farm Crap App pro is freely available for Android and Apple devices at: (Google) Play Store: https://play.google. com/store/apps/ details?id=foam. crapapppro&hl=en_GB (Apple) App Store: https://apps.apple. com/gb/app/farmcrap-app-professional/ id1464161253 The Farm Crap App team are looking for farmers, contractors or businesses who are interested in using the app and being part of a series of case studies we are writing on the practical utilisation of
sharing information on resource management with the farming community in the south west. *FoAM Kernow – a not-for profit network of transdisciplinary labs at the intersection of art, science, nature and everyday life.
the app. We will also be running a series of events, promotional activities and visits over 2020. If you would be interested in being a case study farm or business, or would like to find out more about our forthcoming events please contact: Becky Willson (becky. willson@duchy.ac.uk) or Chris Hodgson (chris. hodgson@rothamsted. ac.uk) Farm Crap App - who’s been involved in the product’s evolution? * Agri-tech Cornwall funded by the European Development Fund, Cornwall Council and the Council for the Isles of Scilly.
Screenshot of the new ‘Farm Crap App’
“The Farm Crap App team are looking for farmers, contractors or businesses who are interested in using the app and being part of a series of case studies...”
* Duchy College Rural Business School, an organisation combining education, training, business support and applied research for rural industries. *Rothamsted Research North Wyke, a nonprofit national and global research facility, focusing on grassland livestock systems and primarily funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). *The SWARM Knowledge Hub at Duchy College
For more information For more information please visit www. swarmhub.co.uk/thefarm-crap-app-pro/
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 15
2 Minute Farmer starts breaking down the challenges in farming By Harriet Housam, 2 Minute Farmer Researcher
Over the past year, Cornish farmers have been helping to shape a unique project called 2 Minute Farmer (2MF). The project aims to provide tools to farmers that help them assess and improve their farms. Taking just 2 minutes to complete, these tools will help to unpack big, complex challenges. The resources include videos, workbooks and infographics to encourage those difficult conversations, which are often brushed under the carpet, such as succession and finding a good work-life balance.
2020 will present farmers with challenges, pressures and uncertainties. Life can present so many conflicting priorities that it is easy to avoid taking effective action. Farmers can have little control over some of the challenges they face. Think extreme weather and market prices for example. Yet, it has been shown that performance between comparable farms varies from struggling to excelling. This indicates that changes on farm can lead to a thriving business in many cases. However to improve a farm business and increase resilience to change, it is important for farmers to take a step back and think about some of the big questions, such as: •
Why are you farming?
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What keeps you awake at night?
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Can your farm’s performance fulfil
your business and personal needs? These questions are not meant to be easy, and they may highlight issues that do not have simple solutions. Conflicting priorities may also make it difficult to know where to start. 2MF help to help farmers break down the challenges they identified into manageable chunks. Spearheaded by Duchy College and Stephens Scown solicitors, and supported by the Agritech Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Project, 2MF collaborates with
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local businesses and charities in its mission to “help farmers assess and improve their farms in two-minute bursts, unpacking complex issues into bite-sized chunks”. 2MF is designing tools to help farmers tackle sensitive issues and the challenges of modern life. Taking just two minutes to complete, these materials include short films, workbooks and diagrams. For example, the tractor and trailer in Figure 1 can help you answer the big questions posed earlier in this article.
Figure 1.
2MF is also developing a self-assessment tool in the form of a booklet where farmers can effectively carry out an at-a-glance health check of their professional and personal lives. The tools asks farmers to rate themselves on 10 topics, these are: •
Future
•
Production
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Paperwork
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Money
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Environment
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Lifestyle
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Communication
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Assets
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Management
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Skills
The farmer can then input their ratings onto the tractor wheel similar to Figure 2. This quickly provides them with a picture of where they think they are. If the resulting wheel is uneven, it is unlikely to get them very far. This tool can therefore help the farmer to decide which area to prioritise in order to develop a more rounded wheel to help drive their business forward. The booklet also contains short questionnaires for each topic to create a more objective version of the wheel. Farmers can then compare where they think they are to where they actually are. 2MF hopes that this tool will encourage farming families to pay more attention to complex issues that they have been ignoring. In order 2MF “Farming Community Get Together” event
to make sure that they are asking the correct questions, 2MF invites feedback on the tools presented. Once priorities for a farm business have been set and challenges have been broken down, it is important to know where to access information and help. There is so much research and resources out there, that finding an appropriate resource can take a long time, and time is not something that many farmers have an abundance of. This is why 2MF aims to signpost farmers to suitable resources via its knowledge hub. The knowledge hub is split into the same sections as the self-assessment tool help guide farmers through making improvements to their farm business, which only requires 2 minutes each day. The self-assessment tool is still in development, and it is being trialled at 2MF “Farming Community Get Together” events. The input of the farmers
themselves is essential to the development of the tool. These successful events started late September and continued into 2020 at the Royal Standard in Gwinear, the Sportsman’s Arms in Menheniot and Eliot House Hotel in Liskeard. They gave attendees the chance to hear talks, access 2MF resources and share their thoughts on the priorities the project should focus on in the months ahead. The relaxed approach meant that 2MF got valuable feedback about the project and attendees also had and enjoyable and useful evening. Comments about the event included, “A great evening. Lots of important things to think about for the future on both a business and personal level”, and, “I liked that the activities had anonymity but I could still see what different people were thinking”.
Figure 2.
2MF will be hosting similar events in the future focusing on topics displayed on the tractor wheel. Events occur around once every 2 months per location. The locations are Liskeard, Gwinear and Probus. As well as farming families, those in the ancillary sectors are also welcome at the events.
For more information For more information visit www.2minutefarmer. co.uk or email 2minutefarmer@ duchy.ac.uk
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 17
Innovative grazing system may offer a ‘winwin’ for livestock sustainability By Dr Sarah Morgan, Post-doctoral Research Scientist – Grazing Systems, Sustainable Agricultural Sciences – North Wyke, Rothamsted Research
Funded through the Agri-tech Cornwall programme, this three-year project at Rothamsted Research (North Wyke) is testing the economic and environmental potential of an innovative model of grazing management (cell grazing) versus a more traditional grazing management system (setstocking).
Originally developed about 35 years ago, the cell grazing model of TechnoGrazing has proved popular in New Zealand and been adopted in other countries including Australia and Uruguay. James Daniel (Precision Grazing Ltd) experienced the system first-hand when he had a spell working in New Zealand after graduating from Harper Adams University with an engineering degree. “I was new to grazing management and it was a real eyeopener for me,” he says. “I managed a beef farm for Harry Weir, farmer and grazing pioneer who devised this system which sees fields accurately divided into equal areas (lanes) with permanent electric fencing. A certain number of “cells” are then allocated using temporary electric
fencing to enable cattle to move regularly to fresh pasture. The farm was finishing dairy bulls and dairy x beef cattle on a 100% grass fed system achieving 1250 kgLW / ha / year with no housing or use of artificial fertilisers. Suitably inspired, James introduced the concept and philosophy to the UK and is working closely with clients to develop
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Dairy x beef cattle grazing at North Wyke and adapt management to suit UK farms. The system works by increasing the quantity and quality of grass
produced per ha through management of “on-time” and “rest period”, thanks to the flexible electric fencing and mobile water infrastructure. This also enables plants to be grazed at optimum palatability, whilst also protecting against possible sward or soil damage in wet weather. The length of the rest period is adjusted by altering the area allocated to the animals which normally move to a new “cell” every 1-3 days; often this is Monday, Wednesday & Friday, meaning only a stock check is needed on the
Average live weight (LW) performance of dairy x beef steers under set-stocking or cell grazing management
weekends. While it has been demonstrated it can increase production and business gross margins, there’s only anecdotal evidence supporting the reduced net environmental cost of this system. Hence why James and the scientists at Rothamsted Research, North Wyke are hoping to throw light on this “essential missing component” by trying to quantify the net environmental impact compared to the more commonplace setstocking approach. The study, which began in 2018, is directly comparing TechnoGrazing and setstocking management using dairy x beef cattle, explains Dr Sarah Morgan, the project’s postdoctoral researcher. There are three replicate paddocks for each grazing management system, which are individually managed with all inputs and outputs recorded. The team are measuring a raft of aspects including environmental factors relating to soil, air and water, along with pasture productivity and nutritional composition, animal growth rate, meat quality, and animal behaviour, health and welfare. This project is one of the most comprehensive pieces of work ever done on this topic,
taking a “whole-system” perspective; points out the project’s Principal Investigator, Dr Jordana Rivero-Viera. “Increasing meat and milk produced from grass is becoming critical to cope with the increasing world demand for food,” she says. “You can’t avoid having some emissions from animals – it’s part of their metabolism – but we want to reduce their emissions while improving their productivity. That way, the emissions per unit of food will be reduced. It’s important to remember that livestock often uses land that simply isn’t suitable for growing crops and it’s an efficient way of converting grass into high quality protein. But there is ever-more pressure to reduce the use of human-edible animal feeds, so efficient grazing management is vital. There are a lot of farmers rearing dairy x beef animals, so if we can find a way of making this type of animal perform better it will have immediate practical relevance to the livestock industry.” Results from the project on animal performance show that cell grazing can increase production output. In 2019, the TechnoGrazing animals achieved an extra 50 days grazing compared to set-stocking animals which has the potential
to reduce the economic cost and environmental impact of production. TechnoGrazing also resulted in an 8% increase in Daily Live Weight Gain per animal and a 46% increase in liveweight produced per ha due to more pasture grown and utilised. This has huge implications if we are to achieve sustainable intensification of grazing livestock as these initial results show that, with the adoption of TechnoGrazing management, output can be increased without the need to increase land area or inputs. Further data is required before the environmental impacts of these contrasting grazing management systems can be fully assessed,
Cow drinking from a microtrough which will be carried out towards the end of the project in early 2021.
For more information For more information visit www. agritechcornwall. co.uk or contact Sarah Morgan at sarah. morgan@rothamsted. ac.uk or 01837 512 334.
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 19
Climate data project set to help farmers decide what to grow, where and how The project, led by Exeter University’s Dr Ilya Maclean, plans to create a climate analytics service – helping farmers understand what can be grown where and what the likelihood of particular pest and disease risks is at different locations.
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The ‘Climatehub’ tool could help manage risks and capitalise on opportunities of changing weather patterns and climate
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More accurate local climate data could herald arrival of new crops
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Better tailoring of crop choice to location will reduce risk for growers and cut chemical applications
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Chance to make the most of unique conditions in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.
Accurate climate information is vital to farmers – and a new project is set to provide them with ultra-local data, helping them take advantage of new cropping opportunities and avoid risks associated with the current and future climate. Ilya and a team of researchers plan to
deliver the data via an easy-to use web platform for individual end-users – potentially giving detailed, field-by-field statistics across Cornwall. “It’s all well and good knowing what your mean annual temperature is or what your growing degree-days are, but what people actually want is information that tells them: Does this mean the conditions are such that I can plant a specific crop here? Does this mean I should actually be thinking about a novel crop that isn’t currently grown?
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“We’re particularly keen on considering whether Cornwall could grow more crops that are more suited to specific microclimates and deliver higher value.” The Climatehub initiative could guide investment and management decisions, which in turn will help the region’s agrieconomy and reduce the risk of weather-related financial loss. Using high-resolution data sets on factors such as topography and sunlight, crunching the stats using purposebuilt ‘loggers’, it will
More accurate local climate data could herald the arrival of new crops produce modelled maps, providing estimates of what, for example, the temperature would be at a specified height above the ground at a specific point in any given hour in any given year.
“Accurate climate information is vital to farmers”
“We’re very interested in saving people money by more targeted pest and disease control – allowing them to spray chemicals when they need to, rather than more prophylactically as an insurance policy”. “We want to get to the point where we can understand what the exact climatic regime that a particular crop pest would be experiencing if it lived under a leaf in a particular potato field.” The need for such information, meanwhile, will increase as growers search for new enterprises, with the nation’s exit from the EU bringing a reduction in the current level of subsidies, says Ilya. “Farmers will need to look at new options so the post-Brexit landscape could definitely herald the introduction of new crops.” Previous work by Ilya’s research group has suggested the region’s climate may be suitable to grow quinoa (a grain traditionally seen in South America), and other exotic crops such as the tangy fruit Japanese persimmon. Their potential suitability reflects how parts of Cornwall have been deemed ‘sub-tropical’
since 2000, with temperatures staying above 10°C (50°F) for more than seven months of the year. Meanwhile, in certain places, the frost-free season has lengthened by up to a month over recent years. But local variations are incredibly marked, with south- and south-westfacing slopes particularly in sheltered coastal valleys often marking the warmest spots – and it’s these divergences that are critical to farmers and growers. The Climatehub work could ultimately generate maps which allow growers to zoom in on an individual farm or field and, in conjunction with their on-the-ground knowledge, assess its suitability for a “suite” of crops. “We’re also looking at which bits of the world are slightly warmer than Cornwall so we can see what crops are grown in those places,” says Ilya.
Backed by the Agritech Cornwall Project, Climatehub already counts among its partners two consultancy businesses: Farm Cornwall and Climate Change Risk Management, as well as Hawkshead, a Cornish electronic design company helping develop microclimate sensors. The project has also collaborated with the Parnall Group at Trelonk. Ilya is keen to involve more large-scale commercial growers from the horticultural or cider sector. “We’d be interested to talking to flower growers on the Isles of Scilly and anyone in the region producing apples for cider. “The world around us is the life-support system on which humans depend – and if we are better equipped to help the natural world respond to environmental change, then we are also better equipped to help people,” he says.
Did you know? The classification system for grouping climates into polar, boreal, temperate, subtropical and tropical was developed in 1966 by the geographer Glenn Thomas Trewartha, of Cornish-American descent. It deems regions where temperatures are 10ºC or greater for between 4 and 7 months of the year temperate, while those with temperatures of 10ºC or greater for more than 7 months of the year are considered subtropical. At the time the system was developed, Cornwall lay firmly in the temperate zone… Look out for some of the Climatehub’s interactive mapping on “Lagas” (Cornish for eye). The online Natural Capital and Information Management Hub will launch in the next few months and will provide access to environmental and economic data.
For more information For more information visit www. agritechcornwall.co.uk
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 21
The Toolbox of Multi-species Swards Project There is increasing recognition that the potential complementarity between legume, grass and forb species in herbal leys will enable the delivery of a much broader range of benefits compared to simple ryegrass-white clover swards. These potential benefits include a host of environmental factors such as fertiliser input reduction, better soil health, pollinator services and carbon sequestration, plus a multitude of practical and financial advantages for farmers.
There is still, however, limited information available on their establishment and management, particularly in relation to the climate and soil conditions found here in the south west of England. Responses from the recent survey of perceptions around multi-species swards thus far indicate that users of herbal leys are more positive about them than non-users, and the biggest barriers to uptake look to be the cost of seed and a lack of knowledge. The Toolbox of Multispecies Swards (TOMS) project, which is funded through the Agri-tech Cornwall and Isles of Scilly initiative, came about as a direct result of industry feedback, which showed that although there is growing interest in using multi-species swards (also known as herbal leys), information on how to establish and
manage them can be difficult to access, or lacks practical application to local conditions in the south west. The project is a collaboration between Duchy College, Rothamsted Research at North Wyke, and a number of Cornish farmers and ancillary businesses, and is working to fill this gap in data and expertise, whilst providing easy to access and relevant information to help their businesses. Farm trials are being carried out across the breadth of Cornwall, with the same herbal ley ‘TOMS’ mix, and control ryegrass and white clover ley being benchmarked against the farmers’ own grazing and/or cutting sward. The ‘TOMS’ mix is an 18 species mixture comprising 6 grass species, 6 legume species and 6 forb species. Each species is adapted to a given set of conditions, for example some proliferate in neutral or alkaline conditions but are absent in the acidic soils. Furthermore, fertility and grazing management
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can influence species dominance. To date, after one year of trials, reliable species that were recorded on most ‘TOMS’ farms throughout the year were: ryegrass, white clover, plantain, chicory, timothy, yarrow, festulolium, cocksfoot and red clover. The identification of key species for herbal swards has the capacity to fine-tune herbal leys for Cornwall, removing unsuitable species and thus reducing seed costs. From year one of the trials, the early season swards had a higher grass component and late season a higher legume component; this is a consequence of grasses being able to grow more effectively at lower soil temperatures than clovers. Late season, there is a risk of the clover comprising over 30% of the sward dry weight. This high level of clover can be kept in check with appropriate nitrogen inputs during the mid and late season from grazing, slurry, or from fertiliser, which gives the grasses
a competitive advantage over the clover. The first year of data has demonstrated that there is no yield nor quality penalty from growing herbal leys in comparison to a ryegrass and white clover mix. Farm-based assessments in the early, mid and late season of 2019 across nine farms highlighted the reduction in overall yield through the season, but there was no interaction between the type of ley and the time of year. A subsequent year of data will enable a more detailed analysis of the data to determine whether there is an effect of the number of species in a ley and resilience – the ability of a sward to continue to thrive in more adverse conditions. On farm over the wet winter of 2019-2020, herbal leys had a significantly reduced level of leached nitrate compared to the ryegrasswhite clover control. This is of particular relevance for the nitrate levels in
Multi-species swards can offer a multitude of potential benefits water catchment areas. Further environmental benefits may include the fact that the diverse leys have a greater foraging resource for bees; an additional year of assessments is needed to confirm the findings for the potential pollinator benefits. At Rothamsted Research, North Wyke, a replicated plot trial has demonstrated that two shallow cultivation techniques, power harrowing and disc harrowing, produced similar total annual yields as ploughed plots. However, the abundance of sown species was higher and weeds generally lower under ploughing, indicating that deeper cultivation is beneficial for the establishment of desired
species. Furthermore, preliminary data from in-depth ensiling trials in the first growing season, from lab-scale mini-silo experiments, showed that use of silage inoculants improved fermentation compared with an uninoculated control, even at dry matter of over 50%. The level of micronutrients in herbal leys compared to the ryerass-white clover leys will be reported in future articles, as well as the ongoing findings on how to optimise the ensiling of herbals leys. All the latest information from this research will be integrated into a bespoke web-based toolbox and app, which will look at species traits, identification, establishment and management, and will help farmers and advisers to make
informed decisions. The information on the hub will be drawn from a range of sources, including a detailed review of existing research, as well as from the project itself, so users can be confident of a robust and independent knowledge source.
their continued input. The project partners at present are Animal Vets in Hayle, Cornwall Wildlife Trust, S.C. Nutrition and South West Seeds. However, the project team are very keen to engage with other businesses that could also potentially benefit from working with the project, including farm contractors and advisers, vet practices and environmental consultants. If you have a small to medium sized business based in Cornwall and would like to find out more, please contact us at the email address below.
The project works in collaboration with a number of Cornish businesses, and the TOMS project team are very grateful for
For more information If you are interested in finding out more about the project, please visit the website www.swarmhub. co.uk and click on ‘TOMS’. The website will have content added over the coming months, so do please check back regularly. The app will be released by the end of the year, further details of which can be found in future issues of the newsletter. There is still time to take part in the online perception survey, which can be found on the above website, or alternatively you can email the team on info@agritechcornwall.co.uk to request a link.
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 23
Dairy goes digital at RBS
By Paul Ward, Research & Programme Manager As part of its dairy research programme, the Rural Business School is looking at the value of utilising different precision livestock sensors to facilitate the earlier identification of disease, the onset of calving and heat detection, thus allowing for earlier intervention. In turn this should increase production, animal welfare and reduce antibiotic usage. Another area of interest outlined below is innovation in calf rearing.
Milk production continues to be the largest sector contributing to the UK’s agricultural output (19%) with a total value of production of over £5,000 million. It is particularly important in the main grass-growing areas of the country and is an important contributor to the regional economies in, SW Scotland, SW Wales, and NW England; with 40% of the national production based in the region, dairy is the main economic driver within agriculture in south west England. Dairy farming is moving into the digital age; developments are already offering benefits to the sector, most notably the use of robotic milking technology to drive more efficient use of inputs, such as labour, and feeding, through animal identification and precision concentrate allocation. There is
significant scope to encourage uptake of such technologies, particularly in measurement and recording e.g. collars to detect movement and detection of heat and imaging cameras for body condition scoring.
“Dairy farming is moving into the digital age.” It should be possible to move from intuitive, to data-driven management decisions to improve technical efficiency. These may be real-time immediate decisions or longer term strategy
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developments. This is important, because more than 70% of the financial difference between top and bottom quartile UK dairy farms is due to decisions made by the farmer, rather than external factors. There is, however, a danger of generating a plethora of data, without the appropriate data management to integrate information between different platforms and analytical tools to realise the potential of the technology. Rumen boluses With this in mind, the RBS decided to look at rumen boluses. Our
Duchy College’s dairy herd initial work with rumen boluses enables rumen temperature data to be linked with cow health and welfare, reproductive management and milk production data to enable timelier and more precise management interventions. Currently the project is confirming the on-farm practicality of the system, on the first farm, a high input/high output robotically milked herd; instrumentation and equipment supplied by Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock are being used. The system will be tested
across three other dairy herds, demonstrating different systems of production, including the College’s dairy herd; indeed, this will constitute one of the first pieces of work at our Future Farm facility. We are also interested in looking at rumen pH boluses. Again these use the reticulorumen’s ability to retain weighted objects and provide individual animal rumen pH data to monitor cow health and in particular disorders such as subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA), increasingly common in high- input/high output herds. This project is Agritech Cornwall-funded. Calf rearing The rearing of dairy replacements represents the second largest expense on most dairy farms after feed,
representing 20% of production costs. This cost of £1,800 is not repaid until the animal reaches its second lactation. The aim should be to calve at 24 months of age, although the UK average is 28 months. Heifers calving at 24 rather than 28 months need less calving assistance (17% v 27%), live longer (86% alive at 5 years of age v 41%) and produce more milk (25,031 litres v 16,671 litres). Attention needs to be firmly focussed on optimising growth rates throughout the rearing period to ensure that heifers are mature and well grown by the time they calve. The efficiency of converting feed to weight gain reduces as cattle age. This can be exploited by feeding calves to grow at fast rates, improving health
and lifetime performance at the same time. The target suggested by the AHDB is to double birthweight by weaning at two months of age and yet only 30% of dairy herds achieve this. The RBS, along with the College farm is therefore targeting calf rearing as a key area of investigation. We are currently looking at the effect of wheyderived prebiotics on gut metabolism and production traits of dairy calves, along with commercial partners. Future Farm The NFU has an ambitious target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions from farming by 2040 and the UK government an aspiration to do so across all sectors by 2050, to address the challenge of tackling climate change. Around 50% of agriculture’s 10% contribution
Duchy College’s dairy calves to greenhouse gas emissions, is as methane from ruminant animals. As the College herd moves across to the new Future Farm unit, new ways of measuring and possibly neutralising methane emissions will become an important part of our dairy research remit. Look out for developments and results from these activities along with news from our other research initiatives in our next issue later in the year.
For more information For more information visit www. agritechcornwall.co.uk
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 25
World-renowned rural leadership course hailed huge success By Nikki Worth
One of the world’s leading rural leadership courses is celebrating the conclusion of another successful year. The Challenge of Rural Leadership course, now in its 24th year, was lauded by delegates and organisers.
were also a large range of guest speakers, all of whom brought a unique perspective on their own paths to leadership.
Managed by the Rural Business School (RBS) at Duchy College, on behalf of the Worshipful Company of Farmers, delegates from across the globe came to Dartington Hall in Devon to undertake the intensive and rewarding programme.
Farmer, parish councillor and Natural England sector lead, Martin Hoddinott, said: “The confidence and inspiration the Duchy College team have shown us is a complete life changer for me and I’m fairly sure I can speak for every member of our group.”
They have returned to their businesses with new found confidence and skills to enable them to thrive in an everchanging agricultural industry, according to Director of RBS, Richard Soffe.
along with the Master David Bolton and other members of the company, joined the course for several sessions. Everyone was impressed with the beautiful Dartington Hall, and the enthusiasm of the delegates.
“It was great to work with another outstanding group of international, high potential managers on the Challenge of Rural Leadership this year, as well as using WH Bond as a local case study,” he explained.
Two Nuffield scholars from Australia were in attendance, along with the Head of Arable for AHDB, and the Agriculture Consultant for McDonald’s Restaurants Ltd.
The Worshipful Company of Farmers chair of education Richard Davies,
“Our very own degree students got the opportunity to listen to guest speaker Professor
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Allan Buckwell do a session on Climate Change and another on Sustainable Food Systems,” Richard added. The first week of the course formed a case study that focused on a local business. The delegates had an overview of every process that currently makes the business work. During the second week, the focus turned to the individual. There were sessions on psychometrics, the media, time-management and how to present yourself under scrutiny. There
Assurance Manager with LEAF, Jennifer Clark, said the course “has impacts that cannot be adequately put into words”. Richard said he was greatly looking forward to the 25th Worshipful Company of Farmers’ Challenge of Rural Leadership. “The application process has just reopened on the Rural Business School website,” he added.
For more information Visit www. ruralbusinessschool. org.uk or call 0845 458 7485.
Richard Soffe Bows Out
By Paul Ward, Research & Programme Manager Richard Soffe, Director of the Rural Business School (RBS) at Duchy and Bicton Colleges retired at the end of March. Director since its inception in 2006, Richard has led the RBS in its delivery of knowledge exchange and applied research, the success of which led to the award of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize 2014. The Rural Business School was originally set up to address the challenge of developing an ‘institutional memory’ from the various knowledge exchange projects that Duchy College was running on an ad hoc basis to benefit farming and the land-based sector. The move was made to create permanent roles, to build up technical expertise and the ability to bid for and successfully run projects with EU and UK funding to the benefit of farmers across south west England. A portfolio of knowledge exchange and training projects worth some £30m was built up and the RBS took over responsibility for conducting the Farm Business Survey in the south west, involving a team of research officers. Throughout his time with the RBS, Richard has been course director of the flagship Challenge of Rural Leadership course, which he had previously established whilst working at Seale Hayne College. Run on behalf of
Richard is also a director of Rural Business Research, the consortium of universities and colleges which carries out the Farm Business Survey, is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter and edits ‘The Agricultural Notebook’’, the standard work for students in agriculture.
the Worshipful Company of Farmers, Richard has developed CRL into the industry-accepted course for those high achievers seeking strategic leadership positions in the agricultural sector. Richard’s leadership was clearly very successful with the involvement of 18,000 farmers in the RBS’ portfolio of KE programmes, which resulted in the Queen’s
RBS Director, Richard Soffe
Anniversary Prize, the first time it had been awarded to a ‘land-based’ college. More recently, the RBS has increased its involvement in applied research through leading Agri-tech Cornwall with its remit in encouraging innovation and the application of technology to open opportunities in agriculture.
On leaving, Richard declared, “The RBS continues to have a bright future as we carry out research, consultancy and link to education in the fields of animal health, animal welfare, climate change, benchmarking and the Environmental Land Management Scheme pilots.” Actually, Richard is not retiring completely, as he will return to direct the 25th CRL course in 2021 and was due to take over as interim chair of the AHDB’s Dairy Sector Board in April.
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 27
FdSc Agriculture Year 2 students achieve success By Paul Ward, Research & Programme Manager
Second Year FdSc Agriculture students were commended by dairy farmer Simon Ward of Trevorder Farm, Wadebridge, following their reports and presentations on their analysis of his business and costed suggestions for diversification enterprises. The reports and presentations were prepared following a visit to view Trevorder Farm in the autumn and collect the data. This was a chance to look at the possibilities for the farm and discover the objectives of the farming family involved in milk production. The group took to the task enthusiastically, with plenty of questions during the afternoon. They then had to carry out a feasibility study, including market research
enterprises suggested. This is excellent for the students as they are able to use real data in a real situation.” This constitutes one of the assignments for their ‘Strategic Business Planning’ module.
Second Year FdSc Agriculture students with Simon Ward, following presentations of their plans for Trevorder Farm
and budgets for the proposed enterprise, before presenting their ideas back to Simon.
Simon commented, “The standard was good this year, with a range of wellresearched diversification
For more information For more information on our Agriculture and Rural Business Management degree courses please visit www.duchy.ac.uk
Young Innovators Forum welcomes new members By Rachel Abrahall
The Young Innovators Forum (formerly known as the Duchy Discussion Group) was set up in 2016 by an enthusiastic group of graduating students, who wished to join, or develop their own, progressive farming–related businesses. Their aim was to establish a dynamic forum to build on the motivation they developed during their time at Duchy College. Their activities have included visits to the
Houses of Parliament, meetings with MPs George Eustice, the farming minister and Neil Parish, chair of the Efra Select Committee and various visits to leading
page 28 | The Rural Business School | Summer 2020
farms. More recently the group has become the Young Innovators’ Forum, being joined by early – stage researchers from the partner organisations in the Agri-tech Cornwall
project. New members are very welcome. Please contact Rachel Abrahall rachel.abrahall@duchy. ac.uk or call 0845 458 7485
‘Future Farm’ delayed News by COVID-19 A French food fight | New Scientist, 21 March 2020 Lockdown By Paul Ward, Research & Programme Manager
The £3m applied dairy research centre, ‘Future Farm’, due to open at Duchy College in June, has been delayed by the COVID-19 ‘lockdown’. Following the government’s announcement, work was stopped on 24th March, but has since restarted in accordance with government guidelines.
Future Farm aims to drive improvements in efficiency, technology, animal health and welfare, and environmental best practice. The facility embraces a host of features, including an ability to split the College’s commercial Holstein Friesians into three mini herds, allowing measuring and comparison of different feeding regimes and management techniques. There will be a computerised, precisioncontrol feeding system, plus an ability to separate slurry and manure from
the different groups of animals, allowing multiple research projects to be run simultaneously – including ones exploring the storage, spreading and treatment of slurry and manure. The centre will see researchers collaborate with scientists from other world-leading centres, while also acting as a learning platform for Duchy students at all levels and a demonstration farm.
For more information For more information about the Future Farm visit www. agritechcornwall.co.uk
The views expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the views of the Rural Business School, Duchy College or The Cornwall College Group.
The highest court in France has ruled that many crops are illegal. This is because of a ruling which states that plants caused by mutagenesis should be subject to the same EU laws as those that cover genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Since the 1950s, plant breeders have intervened to speed up traditional breeding techniques through using radiation or toxic chemicals to induce mutations, hoping for desirable traits. This process is called random mutagenesis and has been utilised to produce thousands of today’s crop varieties, especially wheat and rice. More recently plant breeders have used breeding techniques which blur the lines through encouraging the mutation of plant tissues in a dish and then using the resulting cells to grow plants in a dish. These techniques have been used to produce herbicide resistant crops akin to those produced by GM. Anti-GM pressure groups called for these to be banned as well, which has now happened, but it is so difficult to identify which varieties have been produced in this way and there are no official records. France is the world’s largest seed exporter.
Earth’s soil could absorb 5.5 Billion tonnes of CO2 annually | Nature Sustainability, March 2020 Restoring the world’s soil could absorb more than 5 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, equivalent to the US annual emissions, according to a new study. If done carefully, it should be possible to build soil carbon and produce food, through improved agricultural practices. The report suggests that incentives should be paid for ecosystem services, climate and biodiversity as well as food that agriculture provides for society.
Gene editing | New Scientist 9 February 2019 & 25 January 2020 Gene editing using CRISPR techniques could be utilised to ensure that farm animals mainly have female offspring, according to a team working at Tel Aviv University. It is yet to be seen why this would be used in pace of separating male- and female–determining semen. In the Czech Republic, CRISPR techniques have been used to make chickens resistant to the common Avian Leukosis Virus. Again it remains to be seen if there will be consumer demand for CRISPR chicken.
Summer 2020 | The Rural Business School | page 29
Duchy degree students learn how to impress their bank manager By Paul Ward, Research & Programme Manager
Second Year FdSc Agriculture students were recently briefed by Tim Burston, Agricultural Manager from Lloyds Bank on what bankers are really looking for when lending to farmers. This was part of the preparation for their task of putting in a tender for an actual stock and arable farm being let by the Duchy of Cornwall. Tim commented, “From the questions and discussion, I could see that this year’s group seem to be well prepared and very enthusiastic about bidding for the tenancy of the farm”. This is a good example of the benefits of the Rural Business School’s industry linkages to enable students to put theory into practice. Students have the chance to experience the whole process of tendering for a farm tenancy, providing an excellent opportunity to put their theory into practice. As part of the students’ Strategic Business Planning
Students will need to clearly demonstrate their understanding of these concepts in their applications. Students were also advised by Jamie Blake of the Rural Business School’s Farm Business Survey team. module, they have to provide a full application and business plan with detailed financial information, including profit and loss budgets, cashflow forecasts and balance sheet information in a precise, but concise format. Of particular importance this year will be the interest
Tim Burston of Lloyds Bank with the FdSc Year 2 students
in ‘natural capitals’ i.e. access, biodiversity, historic environment, landscape, soil and water, in line with the changes announced in support payments to agriculture.
For more information For more information on our Agriculture and Rural Business Management degree courses please visit www.duchy.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523
Industry Comments Continued from page 3 spelt (giving it a go this shelves. I made my morning) and oat (which monthly visit to the local I have failed to get to rise big 4 yesterday and yes, in the past). I have made the toilet roll shelf was our own bread for the bare, no pasta to speak past 15 years with the of and the only item on help of a bread/dough my list not available was wholemeal/granary bread maker in the corner of the kitchen, so was flour; there were a few completely lost when bags of very expensive faced with the empty organic rye (too heavy flour shelf. As for toilet and chewy for our liking), page 30 | The Rural Business School | Summer 2020
roll, there is a large stack of newspapers next to the fire if the situation gets that desperate. On to the farming side, we finally have builders on site to erect our new cubicle shed to house up to 120 cows milking through 2 Lely A5 robots
to relieve the pressure on the current system where we will continue to milk up to 200 cows. Last year we grazed low yielders for 10 days in both January and February, less in March; we are yet to put anything out, but hopefully next week (March 16th) we will Continued on page 39.
A career in freelance News continued from page 29 agricultural Genetic clues of TB spread revealed | Enlightened, December 2019 journalism By Ruth Wills
Career: Freelance agricultural journalist and PR assistant at Agri-hub.
Tuberculosis in cattle and badgers passes between members of the same species at least twice as often than between cow and badger. The work was led by experts from the Roslin Institute, with collaborators from institutions including the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Glasgow University and the University College Dublin. Researchers analysing genetic data from the bacteria that causes the disease also found that cattle are approximately ten times more likely to catch tuberculosis (TB) from badgers than badgers are to catch it from cattle.
Lab-grown meat will be on our plates soon | New Scientist, 22 February 2020
I completed my Foundation Degree at Duchy College in 2015 and having really enjoyed my time on the course, I decided to go on to the BSc (Hons) Rural Business Management Top Up. It made sense to me to stay for another year, with several of the friends I had already made through the Foundation course to gain a full degree. I graduated in 2016 and focused on getting my writing out there as much as possible – writing for free for magazines, entering writing competitions and interning as a blogger. While working my way from Mole Valley Farmers to Cornwall YFC, marketing and to my dream job at Agri-hub.
Duchy College graduate, Ruth Wills At Agri-hub we write for publications such as Farmers Weekly and Farmers Guardian, which involves getting out on farms, speaking to inspirational farmers and telling their stories. Another side of the job is the PR work we do – which is writing press releases and working to build our clients’ profiles. This is often includes events such as Cereals, Bath & West and Pig & Poultry. Completing my degree gave me the confidence to pursue my career in agricultural journalism and I would highly recommend anyone thinking of topping up – to just do it.
Muscle grown from stem cells, so called ‘lab-grown meat’, is currently being produced and is close to being commercialised, although there are questions around safety, regulatory approval, environmental impact and consumer acceptance. Its proponents point out the lack of use of antibiotics and avoidance of animal welfare problems. The first types available are likely to be derived from crustacea and fish. The main ingredient is a culture of muscle cells growing on a support structure, bathed in a liquid nutrient medium; the cells proliferate and organise themselves into muscle tissue i.e. lab-grown ‘meat’. The test is to improve taste and texture; even texture may not be so important if the resultant product replace minced meat. A further problem could be the cleanliness of cultured meat. Conventional meat has a microbiome which protects against food poisoning – cultured meat does not and may have to be inoculated with benign bacteria. Cultured meat is very energy-intensive and could be worse for the environment with its carbon dioxide production than beef, with its short life-cycle methane production. Lab-grown meat is likely to first appear in trendy restaurants rather than shops, along the lines of how vegan plant-based meat substitutes were introduced, reflecting their high cost.
Vaccine may spell end of bovine TB | New Scientist 7 December 2019 A modified version of the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis could allow cattle to be vaccinated against the disease, although currently its efficacy is only 56-68%.
Summer 2020 | The Rural Business School | page 31
High-flying Duchy degree student qualifies for finals at Dairy-Tech By Paul Ward, Research & Programme Manager
Nikki Smale from Bradworthy, a student on Duchy College’s BSc (Hons) Rural Business Management course was selected as a finalist in the national Farm Health Management Awards 2020. The presentation was made at the Dairy-Tech event at Stoneleigh Park near Coventry in February. Nikki won through in the category for students studying agriculture at colleges across Britain. It is open to agriculture, livestock and veterinary students from any course year – including postgraduate students. The competition, organised by the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF) to raise the awareness of the importance of proactive farm health planning among younger members of the industry, is sponsored by Volac. The entrants had to prepare a 1,500-word essay demonstrating their understanding of proactive health planning. They were asked to identify the barriers to adopting such a strategy and how to overcome those issues to improve heath and profitability. Students undertook the task as part of their Managing Animal Production module and Nikki was
the livestock sector across the south west. This is illustrated by the fact that the approaches to the prevention and control of both Johne’s disease and BVD, piloted in the south west, have now been adopted at national level”.
one of three chosen to represent the College.
Duchy College degree student, Nikki Smale
It was judged by a panel of a farmer, a practising farm vet and chaired by dairy consultant, John Sumner. He commented, “The standard of the essays was encouraging, and it was evident that the candidates had all grasped the fundamentals of proactive health management.” He also confirmed that Duchy College has had the highest success rate of any College or University over the duration of the competition.
be selected as a finalist and be able to visit the Dairy-Tech 2020 event,” said Nikki. Paul Ward of the Rural Business School and programme manager commented, “Nikki did very well to become a finalist, producing an essay of top quality. This reflects the expertise that Duchy College and in particular, the Rural Business School, has built up as a result of running successful knowledge exchange programmes such as ‘Healthy Livestock’ and currently ‘BVD – Stamp It Out’ with farm vets and
“I was most surprised to
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Dr Jurie Intachat, Programme Manager for the course and the Higher Education Team Lead for Agriculture, Food, Rural Business & Countryside at the College, added, “This was an excellent opportunity for students to apply knowledge gained from their studies and develop innovative but realistic solutions. We aim to develop our students’ professional skills and to see that they have achieved this through such competitions is an honour.”
For more information For more information on our Agriculture and Rural Business Management degree courses please visit www.duchy.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523
The Cornwall College Group appoints Ofsted inspector as permanent Chief Executive
News continued from page 31 Modified moths head into the field | New Scientist, 8 February 2020 The UK company Oxitec has genetically modified diamond back moths and released them to wipe out their own species in a trial in New York State. The larvae of the diamond back moth eat brassicas such as cabbage, kale and oilseed rape, causing global damage. The GM moths were given a gene that kills larvae after they hatch, but it only switches on in females. When male GM moths mate with wild females, the female offspring die, but the males survive and pass the lethal gene on to their offspring. The GM strain does not survive very long as half the offspring of the GM males dies each generation. Oxitec is hoping to get approval to sell the moths to US farmers.
Rise of weeds we can’t kill | New Scientist 22 June 2019 The Cornwall College Group (TCCG) announced the appointment of a new Principal and Chief Executive last Autumn. John Evans, who has more than 30 years’ experience in outstanding FE Colleges in the south west, took over full-time from interim Principal and Chief Executive, Dr Elaine McMahon. Chair of the TCCG Board, Dr Ian Tunbridge, said the College was thrilled to secure an outstanding leader in education. “John’s obvious passion and enthusiasm for delivering innovative teaching and learning, and ensuring that all learners have an outstanding experience resonated with everyone,” he said.
John held the post of Principal of Yeovil College since January 2014, following a role as Vice Principal for Curriculum and Quality of Swindon College. He also worked at Bridgwater and South Devon Colleges, as Head of Motor Vehicle, Construction & Engineering and Head of Technology respectively. John took on the additional role as an Ofsted inspector across the country in 2011. Born in Bridgwater, he lived most of his life in Somerset and has a close connection to the region. He also understands the role that an inspiring and outstanding college can play in the local and business communities.
Strains of the weed blackgrass are resistant to certain herbicides and it now appears to be building resistance to glyphosate according to work at Rothamsted Research. In the USA, one weed, tall waterhemp, is now resistant to five herbicides and similar patterns are seen in other parts of the world. This evolution can be prevented, however, through using many different ways of controlling weeds, including the use of rotations and combining herbicides that kill in different ways.
Research paves the way for low-emission cattle | DickVetNews Issue 31 Scottish researchers have identified a genetic link between host cattle, the microbial community in their digestive tract and the methane that they produce. They have identified microbial community profiles that can be used to recognise cattle with microbes that use their feed more efficiently while emitting less methane.
Meat in a dish could be bad for planet | New scientist, 23 February 2019 Laboratory–grown ‘meat’ could be worse for the environment than farming cattle in the long term. Work at Oxford University has shown that the labgrown meat could have a bigger impact because of its high energy requirements. While methane from cattle has a greater warming effect than CO2, it only remains in the atmosphere for 12 years, whereas CO2 accumulates over millennia and would persist.
Summer 2020 | The Rural Business School | page 33
Sophie lands top prize in West Country Dairy Awards By Paul Ward, Research & Programme Manager
Duchy College degree student, Sophie Bould-Lynch won the 2019 West Country Dairy Awards, walking away with the top prize of £2,000 to spend on training and development. The judging panel interviewed four finalists, who had been shortlisted from 33 applicants from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. It was a close run competition, but it was 21-year-old Sophie who stood out to due to her overwhelming enthusiasm and energy. Sophie, 21, from Buckland Monachorum, had to demonstrate commitment to the dairy industry and show aptitude to ‘add value’ to the industry to the panel of industry expert judges. Judge, Julie Edwards, Mole Valley Farmers’ head of agricultural marketing and communications was “blown away” by Sophie’s enthusiasm. “You get the impression that Sophie lives and breathes farming,” she said. “The industry is reliant on young people with enthusiasm and passion like Sophie – well done!” Sophie works at her partner’s dairy and beef unit, in Buckland Monachorum and also relief milks for two other
achievements The West Country Dairy Awards are prestigious and to beat 32 other applicants is no mean feat. Students benefit a great deal from participating in such competitions.”
dairy herds. She balances this with studying to top up her two-year Foundation Degree course in Agriculture to a full BSc (Hons) degree. She is, however keen to continuously develop her skills and add to her CV to make herself more employable. Sophie is also secretary for South Dartmoor Young Farmers’ Club. Sophie said, “I am a bit shocked to hear that I had won. I’m very grateful and extremely pleased. The first thing I will do is go home and tell my
page 34 | The Rural Business School | Summer 2020
Duchy College degree student, Sophie BouldLynch family and then look up a foot trimming course.” She added, “The money will come in very handy as I think up-skilling is very important and have already self-funded numerous courses including first aid, spraying and artificial insemination,” she added. Course manager, Jurie Intachat, said, “Sophie has done an outstanding job and we are extremely proud of her
Dairying skills The awards, established in the 1920s, provide grants for people studying dairyrelated training courses. Today, the charitable organisation distributes around £18,000 each year to people of all ages who are looking to develop their dairying skills. The awards are open to anyone living in Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset. The other three other finalists came from Taunton, Tavistock and Wincanton.
For more information For more information on our Agriculture and Rural Business Management degree courses please visit www.duchy.ac.uk or call 0330 123 2523
What does it cost to produce a Lamb? By Sally Thompson, FBS Research Officer
In 2015, in the light of the milk price reaching rock bottom, myself and a colleague from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) team, analysed data from 80 SW dairy enterprises to look in detail at the cost of production. The headline figure from the study was that for the year 2014/15 the average cost of production from our sample was 31p/litre. A figure similar to that being used at the time by the dairy industry in their campaign to argue for an improved and fair return. Fortunately for those dairy farmers who weathered the storm the returns at the time of writing have improved. So what about the sheep industry? The FBS figures have long since shown it is an industry dependent on subsidies and unpaid labour. However, it is an industry that rightly or wrongly, doesn’t shout about the actual cost of production of a lamb. Possibly because to apportion fixed costs on multi enterprise farms isn’t an easy task, but also possibly because the truth of the figures are just too frightening to acknowledge? With this in mind, coupled with the fact that 38% of our lamb is exported (mainly to Europe!), it seemed an opportune time to use the FBS data to make the calculation using the same methodology used to calculate the cost of production of milk. This meant not just calculating the variable costs, but including all fixed costs, imputed rents and unpaid labour.
2016/2017 FBS data. The cost of production figures haven’t been reworked using 2018/2019 figures, as the average variable costs from the latest sample look very similar to 3 years ago and fixed costs have probably slightly increased.
The total (variable and fixed) costs of lamb production in the south west Variable costs: these are actual costs allocated to the sheep enterprise from whole farm data in discussion with the farmer.
The current 18/19 revenue figs have increased for the average fat lamb price but decreased for wool. The ewe depreciation cost remains very similar.
Fixed costs: these include a cost for all labour, machinery, property and “general” (non-vehicle fuel, professional and insurance). They are more difficult to allocate, not just between agricultural
enterprises, but between agricultural and ‘nonagricultural’ enterprises (e.g. diversified businesses). We use a standard method for each cost category: •
Land and property based costs are allocated on a per hectare basis
•
General costs are allocated on the share of enterprise output
•
Labour and machinery costs are allocated using specific coefficients
Figure 1: Flock size and total costs/ewe
The research was undertaken in 2017 using Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 35
If a flock achieves a lambing percentage of 1.5, then the answer was 205.13/1.5= £136.75!! In reality many farms don’t achieve a lambing percentage as good as 1.5 and so this figure would be higher.
Figure 2: Percentage split of variable costs
Included in the fixed costs for this research is all unpaid labour and an imputed rent for owner occupied land. Only by including these factors can one farm be compared to another and the full cost of production discussed. The sample size was 68 lowland sheep enterprises (all conventional). The average variable cost/ewe was £48.65.
The range was from £72.97-£414 and is illustrated in a graph plotted against flock size (see figure 1). Adjustments for flock depreciation and wool output The average flock depreciation for our sample was £13.69/ewe and the average wool
output was £3.36/ewe. As the flock depreciation is a further cost and the wool is an output they can be crudely dealt with as follows: Total costs per ewe = 194.8 +13.69-3.36= £205.13. What was the breakeven sale price per lamb?
Figure 3: Percentage split of fixed costs
The average total fixed costs per ewe before land costs were £65.51. When land was included (which includes an imputed rent for owner occupiers), the figure rose to £91.55/ewe. The average unpaid labour/ewe came to £54.60. Therefore the total costs per ewe comes to 48.65+91.55+54.60= £194.80.
page 36 | The Rural Business School | Summer 2020
The average sale price of a fat lamb from our sample in 2015/16 was £69.26, approximately half of the price required to break even that year. The average fat lamb price from last year’s FBS figures 2018/19, was an improved £83.59, but still a long way from the cost of production. Fixed vs. Variable Costs: 75% of the total costs for our sample were fixed costs and only 25% variable, which highlights the dangers of ignoring fixed costs when looking at sheep costings.
The split of costs in our Dairy Study in 2015 was 57% fixed costs and 43% variable, which moved more towards 50:50 as the size of herd increased. Variable costs: As already stated, the average variable cost/ ewe was £48.65. The range was from £10.37 to £118.50.The biggest contributor to variable costs were concentrates (av. £16.33/ewe, other Livestock costs, which include; sales commissions, straw, appropriate proportion of the running costs of working dogs etc. (av. £13.62/ewe) and Vet and Med (av. £7.62/ewe). Figure 2 gives a visual percentage breakdown.
There may well be areas where costs can be tweaked, and it is worth benchmarking these costs. However, some of these costs will have a direct bearing on performance, most notably lambing percentage and therefore they can’t be viewed in isolation. Fixed costs: From Figure 3, it can be seen that total labour costs paid and unpaid account for 53% of fixed costs, and both machinery and land costs 19% each. As fixed costs account for 75% of total costs and over half of these are labour, then reducing labour costs must be an area worth some analysis.
Labour Costs: From our sample the average labour cost unpaid and paid came to just under £76 per ewe i.e. approximately 7 hours per ewe. The question then to be asked is can labour be reduced without compromising welfare standards? And secondly can it be reduced without affecting lambing percentage? The following points might be considered to reduce labour costs: 1. Strict culling policy on age, poor feet etc.
costs. 2 reducing lambing percentage 3 & 4 increasing “land fixed costs”. Conclusion: The average cost of producing a lamb in 2015/16 was just under £137. The average sale price of fat lambs for our lowland sample in 2015/16 was £69 ( in 18/19 was £83.59). 25% of these production costs were variable costs and 75% fixed. Of the fixed costs more than half were labour.
2. Lamb outdoors 3. Improve fencing 4. Improve handling facilities All of the above will have consequential costs. Point 1 increasing depreciation
For the average lowland sheep farm to break even 3 years ago the production costs needed to be almost halved.
Let’s Keep in Touch…. We’d like to continue to send you the Rural Business School Newsletter full of the latest developments, training and opportunities within the rural sector. Please confirm below that you wish to continue to receive the newsletter or we may have to cease all communications with you, to be compliant with the law. YES, I wish to continue to receive the newsletter NO, I do not wish to continue to receive the newsletter If YES, please indicate your preferred delivery method: Post to your home address, as given on cover sheet (please amend if any details are incorrect) Email copy to ....................................................................................................................................... Please return to our FREEPOST address: Rural Business School, Duchy College, FREEPOST SWB40825, CALLINGTON, PL17 8ZZ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We will never sell your data and we promise to keep your details safe and secure. You can change your mind at any time by contacting The Rural Business School at: Email: info@agritechcornwall.co.uk Telephone: 0845 458 7485 Post: Rural Business School, Duchy College, CALLINGTON, PL17 8PB Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 37
Regional College welcomes “passionate” new head of land-based education One of the largest college groups in the south west has made a significant appointment, securing an exciting future for land-based education in the region. Principal and Chief Executive of The Cornwall College Group (TCCG), John Evans, said he was “delighted” to confirm the appointment of Sarah Houghton as the new Assistant Principal Land-Based Education. “Sarah brings a wealth of experience and passion to our College as well as an exciting vision for curriculum delivery across our rural campuses,” he continued. “We have made great strides in ensuring learners receive a quality education that will assist them in pursuing rewarding careers. Our continued investment in quality teaching and resources, combined with bringing in fantastic people to help lead change, is already making an impact and people in the region should be excited about the future. I know that Sarah will be instrumental in creating an engaging, sustainable and careerfocussed curriculum that will inspire learners of all levels.” Previously Assistant Principal for LandBased Curriculum at Reaseheath College, as well as being a Lead Moderator for City and
other initiatives such as the Agri-tech Cornwall Project, we will also be able to help inspire and train the future leaders of the land-based sectors.”
Guilds L3 Animal Care, Sarah discovered a love of education when studying for her degree in equine studies at University of Wolverhampton. “I was compelled to attain my PGCE, which led to a number of opportunities to develop skills in educational leadership at Reaseheath College, which I found incredibly inspirational,” she explained. “I love working with people, whether that’s learners, teachers or external stakeholders, and I firmly believe education is the best sector to do this. I also enjoy the pace of change in education, be that toplevel education policy or the changing nature of learners.”
Sarah Houghton with TCCG Principal and Chief Executive John Evans
Sarah is also passionate about sustainability, particularly embedding it into every area of
“With the launch of Future Farm this year, the highly renowned Rural Business School and
page 38 | The Rural Business School | Summer 2020
land-based provision to meet the challenges ahead in agriculture, food production and horticulture. This passion prompted her to apply for the role at TCCG. “The role at The Cornwall College Group stood out because I can see an opportunity to have an impact on a national scale, particularly considering the amazing rural campuses it boasts at Duchy College Rosewarne, Duchy College Stoke Climsland and Bicton College in Devon,” she continued.
Sarah has just been through the new Ofsted framework in her previous role and is looking to contribute to the significant work taking place to get a positive result on TCCG’s next inspection. TCCG is one of the few colleges in the country that now boasts multiple Ofsted inspectors in its senior team, a fact that should encourage potential learners to explore what the Group has to offer, according to the Principal. “Rest assured, The Cornwall College Group is demonstrating an uncompromising ambition to boast the best college experiences for all our learners,” John said. “I urge people who are looking at post-16 education, degreelevel qualifications, apprenticeships or training to come and see us. A huge amount is changing and there are significant opportunities for people to land their dream jobs and embark on rewarding careers.”
‘Dairy Farm of the Future’ launches in South West In a huge boom for the south west’s agriculture sector, Cornwall is boasting a new major research and innovation dairy farm. Research’ North Wyke Farm Platform.
Future Farm, located at Duchy College Stoke Climsland, will be a first of its type for England with the aim of improving efficiency, welfare and technological advancement in dairy farming. The facility will encourage SMEs across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly to engage in research at a local, national and international level. Future Farm will also benefit the next generation of workers and leaders in the sector, with Duchy College Stoke Climsland students in Cornwall and Bicton College students in
Devon heavily involved. Minister of State Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), George Eustice MP, said the launch of the Future Farm project “is a fantastic step forward in research and innovation for the agricultural sector”. “As a former student, it’s encouraging to see the college embrace new technologies that have the potential to lead and
shape the sector for years to come,” he added. Future Farm will be home to 200 cows that can be grouped into three mini-herds to research the latest innovations in dairy and will support the introduction of computerised precision control feeding systems. Future Farm will build upon the work that is taking place at the worldrenowned Rothamsted
The project is part funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is part of the wider Agritech Cornwall project in partnership with University of Exeter, University of Plymouth, Rothamsted Research and Cornwall Development Company. The project is part funded by Cornwall Council and the Council of the Isles of Scilly and investment by CIEL (Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock) through Innovate UK funding has also supported the development.
Industry Comments Continued from page 30 start to get around the paddocks; with covers averaging >3,000kgDM/ Ha, we will probably need to take some for first cut now to have a sensible level for some decent quality grazing. Looking ahead, drying off will start at the end of the
month and preparations for a very busy May and beyond with 190 (including 79 heifers) due to calve in the first 2 months as well as training through the robots watch this space!! Alison Ward, ST & AL Ward, Wadebridge.
SHEEP & BEEF: For a farm on the edge of Bodmin Moor, we were extremely happy with our scanning percentage of 187%. The high number of storms and nearly constant rainfall made lambing in February very difficult. Although, it
was successful with the majority of ewes turned outside within 24 hours of lambing and no cases of joint ill, watery mouth or scours, despite not using any antibiotics prophylactically.” Matthew Halls, Altarnun.
Summer 2020| The Rural Business School | page 39
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OF DELIVERING EXCELLENT EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN DEVON AND CORNWALL
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Bicton and Duchy Colleges offer residential accommodation for age 16+ on a 3, 4 or 5 night basis PLEASE CHECK WHICH CAMPUS YOUR CHOSEN SUBJECT IS OFFERED AT.
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