On Monday the 29th of March 2021 presented a discussion paper at the Agricultural Economics Society. It is only the formal presentation of some fieldwork result from 2019. We added a discussion part on the possible result of future policies in Wales on farm's economic performance and income.
Discussion Paper and Presentation
The discussion paper is available to download, all members of the AES society could join for free. Besides I will try to record a video of the presentation to post it here afterwards.
Feel free to provide feedback on it! I hope you will find/found the presentation nice and entertaining!
Questions from attendees:
- Has the contribution of off-farm income changed through history?
Yes it did. The combined input/output price pressures compared to the subsidy evolution and increased work productivity on farms (linked to labour replacement per capital)(as well as an element of change in the view of partners implications of farms) meant that having an off-farm income is now relatively common, all the more for smaller farms that require only 1 full time family workers (except during peak working times). Part-time farming has also grown more prevalent in South-Pembrokeshire with other income sources available on and off the holding; oil refinery, public sector (teaching/officers in agricultural support/nurse...), tourism (holiday lets/camping/glamping or even attraction park), energy generation. You notice that some of those venture use farm land but they are no farming activities and are different ventures (sometimes requiring additional workforces) those are directly linked to capital access by farms. The shift on this off-farm income reliance was gradual and non entirely due to combined agricultural factors.
- On the ongoing dairy new developments: I covered it mainly on the Pembrokeshire and Bala in the recent history, I don’t think the former agrarian diagnosis featured it. Mainly estate or former estate home farms would go into it with low cost systems roughly around 300-600 low yielding dairy cows (more is complicated in terms of grazing platform accessible). In the uplands it is the same thing, estate farm separate their hill/mountain and valley holding functioning. Some hill beef and sheep are also considering the move, but only grazing platform and bio-climatic condition permitting. This was on the study areas. Milk prices might not be high but there is a demand. Other options would be high output high input and organic but in lesser numbers (for now) but still using the best parts of the landscape.
Finally the development of dairying is also linked to the development of support farms (renting out land, selling crops, rearing heifers…) specializing the homestead on only one goal. Though it’s not directly a development of dairying I’d like to see it as an enthralment.
- On Farm income opportunities in the future: Dairy is supportive right now. There has been a lot of farm differentiation and diversification in the past some would be clearly related to the position close to attraction and axis (tourism, energy generation,…) vs (farm based; poultry units, pork, egg…). Farms are not equal in regard of those by their location (can play on a myriad of factors) and capacity to access loans. Few horticultural/vegetables/fruits holding developing for now while clearly those are lacking in the UK and there has been a local demand due to Covid (already felt though it doesn’t mean that conventional markets represent bulk of farms outputs) (Capital, weather, price and workforce barriers according to interviews in Pembrokeshire – as well as land access for smallest ones).
Other sessions/presentations I have attended:
I made a quick list of the sessions and presentations I have attended. I really enjoyed the conference and what those presenters and sessions offered. My heartfelt thanks to all of them for those insightful talks. Feel free to contact me in case you would like more information or the presenters contact details:
- Harkness C. (University of Reading, UK, England) Effects of farming practices on the stability of food production and farm income in a variable climate.
- Loughrey J. (Teagasc, Ireland) Alternative Measures of Family Farm Viability: Incorporating Gap Measures
- Warren F. (University of Edinburgh, UK, Scotland) Policies for food system resilience: identifying trade- offs for globalized UK food system
- Revoredo Giha C. (SRUC, UK, Scotland) Consumers' reaction to organic meats in Great Britain during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Huysmans M. (Utrecht University, Austria) On Feta and Fetta: Protecting EU specialty foods Down Under
- Rodrigues M. (University of Glasgow, UK, Scotland) How much do we actually care? A study on UK consumer preferences for farm animal health and welfare
- Symposium: Animal Welfare in the Food Value Chain - From producers to consumers (Olsen, Hubbard, Huettel)
- Poster 1: Ahikiriza E. Redesigning of agricultural extension and advisory systems (AEAS) in developing countries: is it necessary? A review.
- Poster 2: Cele L. Effects of milk quota abolition on farm and export competitiveness in the Irish dairy industry
- Poster 3: Svanidze A. Revealing the obstacles to the sustainable development of the Georgian wine industry from a Natural Winemaker perspective using Q Methodology
- Vigani M. (University of Gloucestershire, CCRI, UK, England) The cost of joining forces: the impact of collective organizations on milk prices and costs
- Presidential Address By Dwyer J. (University of Gloucestershire, CCRI, UK, England), Policy Analysis for Rural Resilience - Expanding the toolkit. Reflecting on 30 years of work at the nexus between policy and it's multifaceted impacts.
- Symposium 5: Agroecological transitions of farming systems: Strategies and their implications for sustainability and governance in different European contexts (UNISECO)
- Workshop 1: Partial equilibrium modelling in agricultural and trade policy analysis (with Defra, Hubbard C. and Erin S.)
- Plenary Concluding Session on Future English Agricultural Policy (with Defra)
