Written evidence submitted by Agriculture
and Horticulture Development Board
CHALLENGES FACING
UPLAND LIVESTOCK
PRODUCTION IN
2010
A summary of the issues facing upland livestock
farmers prepared by the EBLEX division of the Agriculture and
Horticulture Development Board for the EFRA enquiry into the Commission
for Rural Communities report "High Ground High Potential—a
future for England's upland communities" published June 2010.
EBLEX is one of six divisions under the Agriculture
and Horticulture Development Board. It deals exclusively with
beef and sheep production in England. It is funded by a statutory
levy collected at the point of slaughter. Activity is split into
two key areas:
— Helping the beef and lamb supply chain
to be more efficient; and
— adding value to the beef and sheep meat
industry.
1. It is widely recognised that farmers
involved in livestock production are responsible for the stewardship
of the bulk of our upland landscapes and habitats. In many cases,
livestock farming represents the only opportunity to manage land
through agriculture with land either too steep for cultivation
or above the tree line at which point even forestry becomes impossible.
In cases where level low lying fields can be cultivated these
are often used for growing animal feed providing beneficial rotations
and biodiversity.
2. Upland livestock farms play a pivotal
role in rural communities which exist in these regions, by way
of their employment, contribution to the rural economy, its associated
supply industry and use of local services, plus the social networking
aspects of rural life through community events such as Agricultural
shows, weekly livestock markets and regular Young Farmers activities.
3. EBLEX Business Pointers information (amortised
real farm business cost data) shows that livestock farmers in
Less Favoured Areas have experienced a prolonged period of negative
income when all costs are factored in. The cattle sector has seen
prices fluctuate over the last two years, and are currently well
below the cost of production, whilst an increase in sheep prices
over the last two years was critically needed to inject confidence
and some financial viability in upland areas. This has largely
been due to shortages in production/supply and a strong export
market helped by the weakness of sterling. Neither of these drivers
have long term stability.
Despite improvements in efficiency increased
costs for feed, fertiliser and fuel have meant that any increases
in income have been largely cancelled out. In conclusion, without
support through the Single Farm Payment, environment schemes and
the historical HLCA/HFA payments to farms in LFAs both upland
beef and sheep farms would be operating at considerable losses
and not be viable.
| Net Margin
inc non cash
costs.
|
2007-08 |
2008-09
|
2009-10 |
|
| | Average
| Average | Average
| Top Third |
LFA Suckler Beef | £/Cow
| -£356 | -£378 |
-£298 | -£176.05 |
| LFA Breeding Sheep | £/Ewe
| -£37.51 | -£34.28 |
-£31.30 | -£11.03 |
| |
| | | |
4. EBLEX Business Pointers indicates considerable differences
in returns and output between average and top third producers.
See the table above. This indicates a positive opportunity to
encourage producers to maximise efficiency through uptake of best
practice and management. The outcome can be seen as a win : win
in terms of both financial and climate change goals, with more
efficient producers making more money, and generating less green
house gases per Kg of production.
EBLEX experience though the delivery and monitoring of its
Better Returns Programmes shows that knowledge transfer of existing
and new ideas should be tailored to the needs and systems of upland
producers but can benefit from access to expertise, materials
and scale from a nationally coordinated programme. Whilst "Demonstration
Farms" have their uses, delivery of activity should not be
focused on these alone. Demonstration farms should be used to
show the challenges and benefits of practical adoption of new
ideas, but these messages need to be rolled out wider and delivered
locally across the region, which should involve local farm events
where a specific element of best practice can be shown. Where
possible delivery needs to be local, avoiding the need for long
distance travel and valuable time away from the farm. It should
also be joined up with support materials and wider communication
to reinforce messages.
Levy boards can play a pivotal role in the coordination and
delivery of both R&D and Knowledge Transfer information using
their experience, network of contacts and expertise. The RDPE
offers a potential funding stream to provide training and Knowledge
Transfer, but access needs to be more flexible and easier for
those involved.
5. Upland livestock production is largely focused on
breeding herds and flocks, with the majority of farms producing
store animals sold for further finishing on other farms, often
in the lowlands where more abundant and economic winter fodder
and forage exists. This is a vital function in the cycle of English
livestock production and helps spread the supply of meat across
the year.
6. The other focus on upland breeding production is the
vital source of replacement breeding stock to farms further down
country. This cascade of genetics makes the uptake of the best
breeding techniques and genetics on upland farms of huge significance
to livestock production in England as a whole. Whilst the techniques
to record and identify animals of superior genetic merit are well
recognised across the beef and sheep sectors, its uptake has been
slower in upland production systems. Scale of enterprise and a
focus on maternal breeding traits creates real challenges, but
tradition and pride in traditional stockmanship skills also create
a barrier to the adoption of new ideas and technology. This is
an area where the sector has much to gain, and communication between
buyers and breeders needs to improve, to ensure animals are fit
for purpose in sustainable livestock enterprises for the future.
This is an area where support for knowledge transfer and the uptake
of new technology such as electronic identification can play a
positive role.
7. Knowledge transfer of best practice should take account
of the environmental schemes adopted on farms which make a significant
contribution to income for upland farms. Environmental schemes
often bring with them specific management restrictions which can
conflict with practices to maximise output potential from an enterprise.
Consideration should be given to specific research and dissemination
of advice to enable producers to find the right balance between
compliance with scheme rules and the need for output efficiency
to maximise income from both environmental schemes and production.
8. The shortage of young people and lack of opportunity
for new entrants in the livestock sector is no more acute than
in upland areas. A lack of real profitability over a sustained
period has tainted the industry as a career of choice for many
young people originating from upland areas. A period of long term
profitability and career options are desperately needed to encourage
young people back into the industry. Whilst figures indicate an
increase in higher education provision for the land based sector,
much of this has been in general education with broader qualifications
keeping the students options open. In reality there has been a
decline in specialist livestock training facilities and courses
which has tracked the industry's fortunes to the point where rural
training centres lack investment and expertise to provide the
rural skills for those young people who still want a career in
upland livestock production. Investment and a structure to allow
new entrants to gain a foothold in the industry are urgently needed.
9. Surveys by EBLEX show that farm household access to
computers and the internet is high, and whilst its use in the
farm business is growing, its impact is still relatively limited
as a business tool or a source for new information. Whilst some
of this will be down to the slower adoption of computer technology
by an older generation of farmers, access and speed of broadband
technology is acutely felt in remote rural areas. Opportunities
exist to use web technology, for functions such as online movement
records through BCMS, online trading and purchases or access to
latest market information and industry news though levy boards
and farming media. Because of their remoteness it is even more
critical rural businesses have fast and sufficient access to new
media business tools to enable them to take full advantage of
the internet.
October 2010
| 
