Upland Farming:

1
Upland Farming Early Reflections from Nuffield
Studies
Chloe Palmer Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group
2
Context

• Hill farming hits severe crisis post FMD
• Issues compounded to reduce hill farm incomes
• Easy to criticise, but what are the realistic
  options to help the industry?
• Nuffield Scholarship funded by Yorkshire
  Agricultural Society offered opportunity to seek
  possible solutions

3
Themes

• Policy
• CAP and its implementation across member states
  agricultural support frameworks outside the EU
• Marketing
• How food from the uplands reaches the consumer
  and the relative benefits to the producer and the
  rural economy
• Agricultural Systems
• How food in the uplands is produced the merits
  of the different systems observed and how
  production could be more efficient without
  compromising the environment

4
Common Agricultural Policy

• Implementation of Less Favoured Area schemes
  (HFA, etc) post 2010
• Single Payment Scheme
• Extent of de-coupling
• Voluntary modulation
• Historical vs. regional average calculation for
  entitlements
• LFA vs. lowland

5
Food marketing

• Role of co-operatives
• Direct selling to retailer
• Local Branding
• France and its food obsession great news for
  farmers!
• Farm gate sales
• Ireland lags behind

6
Farm Gate Sales in France

• Text

7
Supporting Regional Produce

• Text

8
Role of Auction Marts

• Text

9
Farming Systems

• Part time farming
• Diversification
• Loyalty to regional breeds
• Efficiency
• Resource management
• Technical development research

10
Diversification Part-time Farming

• Text

11
Loyalty to Regional Breeds

• Text

12
Technical development!
13
Challenges for the Future

• Now and Imminently
• UELS
• Is RDPE working as it should for the Less
  Favoured Areas?
• Price (and cost) volatility

14
Challenges for the Future

• Long Term
• SPS post CAP reform in 2013
• Succession (or not, as the case may be)
• Oil price hikes
• Climate change

15
Supporting Upland Farming

• Appropriate facilitation and support, especially
  during introduction of UELS
• Identifying appropriate advice delivery
  mechanisms and agencies
• Relevant research and effective dissemination -
  must be applicable to the upland beef and sheep
  sector
• Funding and grant aid is it going where it
  should go and how can you make it accessible to
  those who need it most?

16
FWAG and the Uplands

• Assisting farmers to enter UELS through the
  provision of advice will be FWAGs priority for
  2010
• Helping them to improve resource efficiency
  focus on nutrient use and soil management to save
  costs
• Enabling them to access funding to support
  environmental enhancement agri-environment,
  renewable energy, resource protection and
  efficiency
• Inspiring and enthusing farm walks and talks,
  success stories, sharing best practice, bringing
  together like-minded farmers and landowners