The Rural Business School Newsletter - Spring 2016

The Rural Business School Issue 51 - SPRING 2016

BovMycoTox Dairy costs Diverse forages Farmland ponds Highlander sheep

Advice Days:

Duchy - 12th March Bicton - 23rd April

The cost of milk production in the south west

Editorial

“Should we concentrate on producing milk when it is wanted and stop running down our balance sheets to weather the storms?”.

‘Why does UK milk production not appear to follow normal supply and demand theory?’ could be the sort of exam question that would be very relevant to our future milk producers. At the end of the 2013/14 milk year, we reported that UK dairy farmers had just come through one of their most profitable periods ever, with milk prices reaching a record of over 33p/litre. As a result, UK milk production had soared, that year up 10% to the highest level for 10 years. AHDB Dairy is now reporting one of the longest periods of low milk prices seen since 2007/8 (pg 29) and what has been the response in UK milk production?

According to supply and demand principles, shouldn’t supply have reduced over 2015?

Well in fact production is up between 3 and 5%! Production in New Zealand over a similar period shows a drop of 6%; no doubt the weather is responsible for part of this, but their key reaction to adverse milk pricing is to cull hard and save costs. Can we learn anything from this?

Is it time that UK milk producers thought more about the market and stopped automatically going for the extra litres in times of low prices?

Should we concentrate

Director: Richard Soffe FRAgS page 2 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

on producing milk when it is wanted and stop running down our balance sheets to weather the storms? (Apologies for the pun, but this is being written as storm Imogen rages outside). Our RBS colleagues in the Farm Business Survey team have analysed the figures and confirm predictions that the majority of dairy farmers will be losing money in 2016 (pg 8).

Although demand may rise, the high levels of milk powder stocks will buffer any possible price rise for some time to come, according to the AHDB (pg 30) i.e. we are likely to be locked into a significant period of low pricing. Although a new strategic approach may not solve our current problems, it may at least avoid exacerbating the situation.

We do not apologise at Duchy and Bicton Colleges for our emphasis on such strategic thinking around real farming and rural business situations in both our degree (pg 13) and our higher level work-

based courses (pg 15).

Although other sectors are in a similar situation currently, our commentators are, as ever, optimistic and looking at how they can pare their costs and increase profitability (pg 3 & 7). Our own farm is investigating the use of a composite hybrid to reduce costs and improve the profitability of sheep production (pg 12).

The RBS fully support all initiatives such as the Ladies in Beef Save our Sucklers campaign, which aims to highlight and differentiate the role of suckler beef in the market place (pg 16).

Indeed, such initiatives are worthy of support by all suckler-beef producers, but giving support should not be a reason to delay efforts to look into achieving savings on–farm.

Finally, after three months of extremely high rainfall in the south west, is now the time to plan a pond for wildlife (pg 18)?

Paul Ward

Contents Industry Comment 3 RBS News 4 Guest Articles 16 Environmental Advice 18 News 25-29 SWARM Hub 26 Market Monitor 28 Diary Dates 31-32

0845 458 7485

www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk

ARABLE: How fortunate that we were blessed with good crop establishment conditions this year. The persistent wet weather since November has prevented us from making some planned chemical applications and the crops are just starting to show signs of stress from the constant wet weather.

Mildew is alive and well in the barley and the pigeons are having a fine time on the OSR. With prices on the floor and with the RPA seeming to have forgotten that I exist, financial management is a key issue. Having just completed my CropBench figures for last harvest, the report from AHDB makes interesting reading. The average total cost of production figures for wheat and barley in the Southern area (includes Devon & Cornwall) is £133 and £148 per tonne respectively.

Dairy producers will immediately recognise the problem cereal growers face. Now, where to apply the surgeon’s knife to those costs to get closer to profitability?

Mike Hambly, Westcott Farm Partnership, Callington & BCE Chairman, AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds BEEF & LAMB: Generally prime cattle returns have been disappointing over recent months. Prices offered, although steady

have not been good. This situation has applied also to the cull cow trade but numbers are tightening and demand is unchanged so this may help the situation. There are organic premiums available on both prime cattle and cull cows.

Hogget trade since the New Year has strengthened, reflecting the demand and lack of numbers available. Prices offered for cull ewes are currently improving. We are now looking forward to marketing new season lambs from February.

Sue Rowe, CQLP. POULTRY: Happy New Year to you all. The New Year brings new hopes and aspirations- as well as the same horribly wet weather and poor commodity prices of more recent times!

Although we farmers are often accused of being miserable moaners, I believe the opposite is actually the case, and it is indeed our eternal optimism that makes us believe that everything will only get better that keeps us farming at all!

It is very difficult to find market conditions and prices that serve every sector well at the same time.

So as we enter the New Year, I would simply wish

for some stable and sustainable prices for us all.

Ian Davey, Davey’s Cracking Good Eggs, Saltash SHEEP: When the quad bike is starting to make a mess in a ‘dry’ field with long grass, it must be pretty wet. With the wet weather in December and early January, I do still count ourselves lucky, compared to others living in the north of England.

One of my friends, looking on the brighter side, posted a picture on Facebook whilst moving heifers from a flooding field. The comment attached was “always described that field as flat – only when filling up with water do you realise the undulations”.

Back at home we have just scanned the sheep where we have seen a 10% rise in the scanning percentage for the second year running. I think this is mainly due to working proactively with my vet, rather than just seeing her when we have a problem.

Pin-pointing issues that could be limiting the flock’s performance is the first step towards addressing them.

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.

“Pin-pointing issues that could be limiting the flock’s performance is the first step towards addressing them”.

One issue was lameness within the flock, which was running at about the national average (7-10%), but by working with the Continued on page 7...

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 3

RBS News

Breaking the mould! A new research project on mycotoxins

By Dr Stephen Roderick, Rural Business School, and Professor Michael Lee, University of Bristol and Rothamsted Research, North Wyke

Not all of the moulds that grow on animal feeds are toxic, but those that produce mycotoxins are, and they can cause chronic health problems and reduced productivity in livestock. However, the occurrence of mycotoxicosis in cattle can remain undetected due to a lack of specific symptoms and overlapping symptoms associated with other metabolic diseases such as acidosis.

“The occurrence of mycotoxicosis in cattle can remain undetected due to a lack of specific symptoms.”

In previous editions of the RBS newsletter we have reported on how a consortium of researchers has been investigating the extent of the problem in the UK. The consortium, involving academic and commercial partners, has now embarked on new research aimed at the development of rapid early detection and ultimately to more rapid and effective control and prevention.

Using a technique known as ‘metabonomics’, the BovMycoTox project will investigate the effect of mycotoxins in ruminant feed on metabolism in ruminal tissue cells. Metabonomics is a technique that involves measuring and understanding the products of metabolism, which in turn can give a new insight into the way

page 4 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

to detoxify an array of mycotoxins associated with forage-based diets.

However, young calves, before the rumen has fully developed, and high yielding cows receiving high- concentrate, starch-containing diets, both lack this capability. Research will be undertaken on the effect of diet and binders on ruminal metabolism of mycotoxins so as to inform farmers, nutritionists and vets on dietary risks and the

efficacy of preventive measures.

The project, which is funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), is led by the University of Bristol. Duchy College will provide the link with the farming community by providing a programme of knowledge exchange that will keep farmers, vets and advisors fully informed of the results

of the research as it progresses. We will be holding a series of events to publicise the outputs from the work and a website will be launched early in 2016.

For more information Please contact the Rural Business School on 0845 458 7485 or rbs@duchy.ac.uk

Aims of BovMycoTox •

Impact of the mycotoxins and their metabolites on the gastro-intestinal cell

•

Impact of diet and binders on mycotoxin detoxification, metabolite formation and microbial ecology

•

Metabonomic and biomarker identification

•

Knowledge exchange and dissemination to the feed industry, veterinarians and farmers

Agriculture students’ charity ‘Bake Off ’ animal tissue responds to different diseases and providing opportunities for the development of biomarkers. Organisms often respond in complex and unpredictable ways to disease or injury and it is known that mycotoxins have detrimental effects on metabolism. The research will provide a unique biochemical fingerprint of key metabolites arising from exposure to mycotoxins, as well as identifying their potential

A high proportion of maize silage crops in the south west have been found to be contaminated with mycotoxins (RBS Newsletter, Autumn 2014)

for use in diagnosing mycotoxicosis.

Unlike pigs and poultry, cattle and sheep have a protective mechanism for handling mycotoxins in that microorganisms in the rumen are able

First year Foundation Degree Agriculture students presented RABI SW Regional Manager, Pam Wills, with a cake and a cheque for £100, when she came to talk to agriculture students of all levels on the fantastic work of RABI. They had decided to bake and sell cakes in aid of RABI, “Utilising our employability and development skills, we’ve been learning about in class,” said Fd Sc Ag student, Craig Walker.

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 5

Cornish Jack cheese launches

Farm Safety Awareness workshop

Cornish Jack cheese, an artisan Swiss-style cheese developed from the Centre for Food Manufacturing Excellence at Duchy College Stoke Climsland is now available for sale through a handful of specialist shops in the West Country.

As part of the “Yellow Wellies” campaign, The Farm Safety Foundation put on a Farm Safety Awareness course for Agriculture students at Duchy College.

After much product development and technical support from both staff and consultants at Duchy College, Lawrence and Rosea Reynolds together with their daughter Alex, have developed the sweet, nutty cheese which has very prominent ‘eyes’ or holes which form during production.

The family is based at River Amble Creamery near Wadebridge, and decided to research Cornish cheeses after attending a cheese-

making short course run by the Duchy College Rural Business School, and discovered that nobody in Cornwall or the UK appeared to be making an artisan Swissstyle cheese.

Cornish Jack takes around four to six months to mature and get the best flavour possible, so they have been working incredibly hard for the past year, involving Duchy Students in their taste tests and feedback sessions, developing and tweaking the recipe

to improve the taste and appearance of the finished product.

The couple describe the taste as similar to Jarlsberg, Emmental and Le Gruyère, and are encouraging people to try it as an interesting addition to a cheeseboard, and a cheese to cook with.

Lawrence said, “It’s so important that people know that facilities and expertise like these at Duchy College are available and make good

use of them because of the opportunities they can bring. Without them, we would have been very limited and would be trying to do something at home on a much smaller scale.

Team Lead at the Centre for Food Manufacturing Excellence, Laura Black, said, “Rosea came along and undertook a course in ‘Deer Butchery’ last year; from there she went on to study a cheese making course and that’s where the idea came from. Our students have had the opportunity to be involved as well, with regular product testing and feedback - a perfect example of a real-life product development”.

The couple hope to build their own small dairy at River Amble Creamery, once they can convince planners that the business is sustainable.

For more information about the Centre for Food Manufacturing Excellence, please call 0845 458 7485

page 6 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

Two specialist health & safety consultants from Risk Management Services Ltd and Stephanie Berkeley – Farm Safety Campaign Specialist from NFU Mutual - together with College farm staff, set up four CSI themed accident scenes to highlight the dangers of working on the farm.

Scenario one was a PTO related incident, with a fake limb entangled around the PTO shaft.

Scenario two was a body that appears to have fallen from a ladder.

Scenario three was a crushing injury as a result of working with cattle in a pen and scenario four was an overturned ATV. In total 60 students took part in the workshop,

spending approximately 20 minutes at each station trying to work out what had happened at each ‘crime scene’, decide what immediate action should be taken in each case and what measures are needed to prevent the accident happening in the future.

Students were encouraged to appreciate the seriousness of this important topic, after 33 worker fatalities and

A total of 60 students took part in the workshop, which included a scenario with an overturned ATV. 14,000 self-reported nonfatal workplace injuries were reported in 2014/15 in the agricultural sector alone. Students were also encouraged to talk about incidents they were aware of that had happened to friends or family.

Team Lead) said, “Farm Safety is of utmost importance to us here at Duchy College and is a topic that we take very seriously. This awareness event is a great way for students to appreciate the potential dangers on farms by learning in a practical way and for farmers of the future to think differently and be aware of about the potential risks of working with machinery and livestock in particular”.

For more information about the range of farm safety courses at the RBS, please call 0845 458 7485 or rbs@duchy.ac.uk

Peter Walker (Agriculture

Industry Comments (Continued from page 3) vet, we have managed to bring lameness down below 3%. This has meant that the flock in general is in better condition all year round, which has a bearing on fertility, their ability to rear lambs and therefore the profitability of the flock - not to

mention the decrease in time treating feet, lower antibiotic usage, and increase in speed of moving flocks of sheep!

Maybe as a industry we should take a leaf out of the dairy sector who have

routine visits by a vet.

I’m not saying weekly or monthly, but two or three times a year. Someone coming in can sometimes see a problem that you don’t think you have.

Adrian Coombe, Sheep Farmer & former Focus farmer

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

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 7

The costs of milk production – it’s not black and white

By Sally Thompson and Greg Macqueen, Research Officers, Farm Business Survey

The Farm Business Survey (FBS) is the most authoritative, independent study of farm costs in the UK and has been supported by farming organisations since it began in 1936. The FBS Team for the South West Region is part of Duchy’s Rural Business School and we have been able to look at a large sample of dairy farms in the southwest. For many years Farm Business Survey Data has demonstrated how much farms depend on receiving CAP support payments (BPS), environmental payments and diversification income. With the milk price having dropped by 23% over the past year, dairy farmers are asking themselves questions about long term viability. So what exactly are the costs of producing milk? Which farms are most affected? Are smaller farms more vulnerable?

Here we give a mainly graphical illustration of the costs of milk production in the south west.

Background to the current economics of milk production

pence per litre 40 35

In November 2015, the UK average farm gate milk price decreased to 24.20p per litre. The average price remains 16% lower than in November 2014.

The continued high domestic production combined with the ban on dairy imports to

2011

30

2012

25

2013 2014

20

2015

15 10 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

UK wholesale prices

Above: Chart 1 - United Kingdom farm gate milk price (p per litre). Source: Defra statistics.

4,000 3,500

The total (variable and fixed) costs of milk production in the south west Various figures are quoted for the cost of milk production, but where do they come from and are they applicable to the type of farms and farming conditions that we have in the south west? This comparison uses Farm Business Survey data from 80 dairy enterprises and compares costs over the last four years. The robust methodology developed over many years means we are able to make a fair comparison between different sizes of farms over several years. Where figures are given for organic farms, it should be noted that the sample is small (just over 10) and therefore should be treated with caution.

Variable costs: these are actual costs allocated to the dairy enterprise from whole farm data in discussion with the farmer and include herd depreciation.

£/tonne

Russia and falling returns from global commodity markets has had a large impact on the industry (Defra).

1,500 1,000 500

Left: Chart 2 - UK wholesale prices. Source: AHDB Dairy

0

Butter (Unsalted)

SMP

Mild Cheddar

page 8 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

Mature Cheddar

•

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.

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.

for 2014/15 and Chart 6 (page 11) shows the split of fixed costs 2014/15.

Total costs per litre Over the past four years, the average cost of production of conventional milk has risen from 28p to 34p, a rise of 20%. For organic milk the cost of production went up by a similar percentage from 34p to 40p. (See chart 3 below).

Please note that all production costs mentioned from now on refer to conventional milk only.

Reducing costs: knowing your variable from your fixed Chart 4 (overleaf) shows the split of variable and fixed costs of production between different herd sizes in 2014/15. This shows that economies of scale apply to fixed rather than variable costs.

Chart 5 (overleaf) shows the split of variable costs

It is worth noting that the percentage splits of variable and fixed costs are very similar for the organic farms.

What effect does herd size have on cost of production?

Chart 7 (page 11) demonstrates two things: firstly the effects of economies of scale and the spreading of costs over a greater number of cows (and therefore litres of milk); secondly, it also shows clearly the variation in costs of production between farms irrespective of herd size. This is emphasized in Chart 8 (page 11), which shows the percentage of farms producing milk at increasing costs of production: thus only 1% of farms produced at less than 25p per litre whilst Chart 3 - Milk Production Costs (p per litre): the 4 year picture conventional versus organic

Milk Production Costs (p per litre)

p per litre

2,000

They are more difficult to allocate as they have to be divided, not just between agricultural enterprises, but between agricultural and ‘nonagricultural’ enterprises (e.g. in diversified businesses). We use a standard method for each cost category:

Definitions:

3,000 2,500

Fixed costs: these include a cost for all labour, machinery, property and general (non-vehicle fuel, professional and insurance).

45 40 35 30 25 20

conventional

15

organic

10 5 0 2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15 Year

Bulk Cream

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 9

Top right: Chart 6 - Split of fixed costs 2014/15

p per litre 45 40

17%

35 30

Centre: Chart 7 - Total Costs by size of Herd (p per litre) 2014/15

25 20

fixed costs

15

variable costs

All Labour including farmer and spouse 41%

Machinery

11% General Farming Costs

10 5 < 100 cows

Chart 4: variable and fixed costs 2014/15 (p per litre) nearly 40% of farms produced at over 35p per litre.

Conclusions With these levels of costs, the current financial year is obviously proving very difficult for dairy farmers; with an assumed Chart 5: Split of variable costs 2014/15

100 - 200 cows

average price of 25p per litre for 2015/16 (which some projections suggest is optimistic), 99% of farms would make a loss i.e. fail to cover all of their labour costs and make any return for their capital investment. In practice of course, some costs will be lower. The figures we have looked at for the 2014/15 year were for year-end accounts December 2014 through to April 2015. In the last year the cost of dairy concentrates has fallen by more than 5%,

> 200 cows

the cost of fertiliser by more than 10% and red diesel by more than 25%.

Using these percentage reductions on our average net margin figures gives a saving of approx. 0.5p/ litre on variable costs and 0.2p/litre on fixed costs.

However, a 2% reduction in costs doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go far to mitigate the 23% fall in price received. So cost

Size of herd

reduction is going to be important. Monitoring margin over feed will help to minimise variable costs (feed makes up 50% of variable costs); but do not forget labour and machinery costs, as these make up 70% of fixed costs.

Land and Property Charges

Bottom: Chart 8 Distribution of Milk Production Costs (p per litre) 2014/15

0

31%

50 45 p per litre

40 35 30 25 20 15 10

For more information see the Rural Business Research website at www.ruralbusinessresearch.co.uk.

all costs p/litre

5

Linear (all costs p/litre)

0 0

100

200

300

400

500

600 Cows per herd

45

13%

17%

cow depreciation Concentrated feedingstuffs

14%

Vet. and medicine

Percentage of 40 farms 35 30 25 20

percentage of farms

15 10

6%

Other livestock costs 50%

page 10 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

Forage costs

5 0 20 - 25

25 - 30

30 - 35

35 - 40

40 - 45

45 - 50

Milk Production Costs (p per litre)

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 11

Duchy College farm introduces the Highlander breed

By Catherine Ede, Farm Secretary and Aaron Finucane, Livestock Foreman Duchy College Home Farm is a mixed farm, although the main focus has been on the dairy enterprise. However, with milk price becoming extremely challenging over the past year, it has been decided to consider the possibility of maximising production by expanding other revenue streams.

Earlier in the year, 100 Highlander ewe lambs were introduced to the College farm alongside the current Texel cross Lleyn flock. their own replacements.

The expansion of the existing Texel x Lleyn flock was not considered to be an option, due to restrictions based around the breed, available shed space for lambing and prohibitive labour costs associated with indoor lambing.

Taking these points into consideration, various sheep breeds were researched to introduce to the farm. The main criteria were a breed that was prolific, could lamb outdoors in April, would require minimal intervention, could run on a purely grass/foragebased system, were a smaller more compact ewe to aid stocking density and could operate as a closed flock so the farm could breed its own replacements.

This list of requirements led to the Highlander breed, and as the original Texel cross Lleyn ewes have been bred to Highlander rams

The selection of a maternal breed, along with the introduction of Shearwell performance recording software, will allow the farm to push its genetics forward and continually improve the flock, a major benefit to the farm. for the past two years with success, the farm considered the pure Highlander ewes. The Highlander breed is a composite breed initiated

by Focus Genetics, a specialist breeding company in New Zealand, with UK representation by Innovis.

The Highlander meets all the farm’s requirements, having been established to improve ewe production and performance by breeding a smaller ewe requiring less feed, a hardy ewe for outdoor lambing with improved lamb vigour and a ewe

page 12 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

with higher prolificacy of up to an extra 0.19 lambs compared to standard UK crossbreds.

The composite hybrid consisting of the New Zealand Romney, Finn and Texel has been developed over the past thirty years to provide a ewe capable of lambing outdoors with minimal intervention, which will run on a forage only system. The 55-60kg adult ewe allows stocking densities of up to 15 per hectare, depending on forage quality. They are also a maternal breed and thus can be run as a closed flock, producing

Another advantage of the Highlander breed and using Innovis-bred sires, is that the farm can benefit from a bonus scheme. A grade-dependent bonus is now received on a base price of between 13ppkg and 20ppkg.

By introducing this system the College can provide students with the opportunity of working with an outdoor lambing, low-input foragebased system with the Highlander, as well as the more traditional indoor lambing system.

The 100 ewe lambs

are due to lamb at the beginning of April, but are yet to scan at the time of writing. However the farm is hoping for a successful season says Aaron.

The College farm has worked very closely with, and greatly benefitted from the experience,

invaluable input and continued support of, Mike Tewson and Declan Marshal, Innovis and others in the Highlander network in setting up this flock, and look forward to continue to work closely with them in the future.

The long-term plan for the flock is to continually

improve the genetics whilst expanding the flock to a size that can not only run alongside the other farm enterprises, but in fact bring benefit to those enterprises.

Aaron would like to see the total Highlander flock numbers up to around 400 breeding ewes; at this level,

production potential will be maximised and it also assists the dairy system with improving grazing efficiency.

For more information Please contact the Rural Business School on 0845 458 7485 or rbs@duchy.ac.uk

Rural Business Management students grill Chief Executive It’s not often that undergraduates can interrogate the chief executive of a multi-million pound business, but that was just the exciting opportunity our BSc (Hons) Rural Business Management (RBM) students have been given. Recently, they travelled to Malvern to meet Ken Nottage, Chief Executive, and senior managers of the Royal Three Counties Show in order to produce a development strategy for the future of the event.

Students were offered the chance of putting their stamp on one of England’s finest agricultural shows, including England’s largest livestock and equine show, as part of a competition to raise the show’s profile in the industry, increase visitor numbers and attract more sponsors. They are carrying this out as a key part of their ‘Marketing’ module and three groups of Duchy students will be competing against students from other universities and colleges.

Following a very open and frank introductory session with the Chief Executive and Finance, Operations and Corporate

this stage, but it means that the Three Counties Show management’s expectations on the students’ outcomes are now very high!”

Affairs Directors, the group was given a guided tour of the showground and facilities. The students were then treated to a working lunch followed by a chance to question the the senior management team in depth about all aspects of their operations.

Ken Nottage

congratulated the students on their professional approach to the task and the wide range and depth of questioning which they posed to his team.

Paul Ward of the Rural Business School and Marketing Module Leader commented, “The students are to be commended on the work they have put in at

Dr Jurie Intachat, Course Manager and HE Team Lead for Rural Business, Countryside & Horticulture said, “This is an excellent opportunity for our students, allowing them to carry out their studies within a real industry setting”.

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

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 13

Bicton Earth Centre

City and Guilds Level 4 Work Based Diploma in

By Sarah Hutchings, Earth Co-ordinator The EaRTH Centre at Bicton College joined the Rural Business School in the Cornwall College Group merger which took place in March 2015. We offer a range of short courses from the centre for candidates looking to move into new industries, students and candidates wanting to gain industry tickets and refresher training.

The Centre was two redundant agricultural buildings at Bicton Home Farm, which were renovated into a new teaching/educational and conference space and opened in May 2011. The only new part of the building is the linking section which incorporates the staircase to the conference facilities. The centre has a number of renewable/ sustainable technologies in the centre.

• Grey water

harvesting system •

Solar panels

•

Sedum roof

•

Biomass Boilers

•

Cob wall

The Centre is a HETAS qualified training provider and is the location of the Devon NPTC Assessment Centre. We offer a wide range of courses, from renewable energy to industry ‘ticketed’ courses.

The short course role has seen many changes over the past years, but we now feel that we have a strong hold on the courses we offer and are

WIFI if required.

The room retains its exposed brickwork from its previous use as an agricultural building; this is a beautiful room which offers a great setting for a conference or workshop, with a log burner available for use.

looking to branch out into more leisure courses - watch this space!

We have an enthusiastic group of trainers and assessors at the centre who work together to offer smooth running courses of a high standard. We are constantly looking to improve our process and take on board all feedback from candidates on our courses.

We went through an NPTC audit in August this year which was very successful and the hard work put in by the centre was recognised and we were given some really positive feedback and encouragement.

The majority of our

page 14 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

courses are a mixture of theory and practical training; where required, we can arrange training support for candidates as long as we are informed in time before the course starts.

The EaRTH Centre has a brilliant conference and training facility available for hire: CONFERENCE FACILITIES Our conference space is located at the bottom of the centre and seats 75 people. There are two projectors in the room, one on the facing wall and a drop down one in the centre of the room for large groups. There are audio facilities, laptop and flip charts in this room and we can offer

TRAINING FACILITIES The top of the centre offers a large training space which can be separated out into four training bays. There are three LCD TV screens which can be linked to one or individual laptops and used as projectors.

PARKING There are numbered parking bays outside and a large car park adjacent to the centre.

For more information on hiring the venue please contact us at the centre on 01395 562 360 or on the main switchboard 01395 562 400 and ask for the commercial department.

Agricultural Business Management Recruiting now for September 2016 This innovative and flexible part-time programme is aimed at developing technical and financial management skills and is ideal for anyone either in, or aspiring to be in, enterprise or farm management.

It is aimed at practical people and assessment is focused almost entirely on relating the learning to the work place. The programme is day-release and runs over two winter periods. Delivery of the programme is mainly by industry specialists and runs along the lines of a discussion group. During the two year period you will build up considerable knowledge and skills and also an extensive network of contacts. There is also considerable potential gain for the business.

The programme is intended for those who have completed a Level 3 in Agriculture either work-based or full-time, although exceptions do apply. It is delivered from various locations in both Duchy and Bicton areas.

Funding can be accessed through the new Higher Level Apprenticeship schemed aimed at graduate level training whilst in employment.

This new, exciting and innovative programme offers considerable opportunity for those wishing to progress their careers as effective and successful managers.

For further details contact Stephen Parsons on 01579 372220 or stapp@gotadsl.co.uk

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

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

You can now claim Dairy Pro CPD points through The Rural Business School. Please contact BASIS to claim your Dairy Pro CPD points.

Advice Days Bicton - 23rd April 2016 10am-12pm Duchy College Stoke Climsland and Rosewarne 12th March 2016, 10am-12pm Duchy College Stoke Climsland OPEN DAY and Food Festival - 25-26th June 2016, 10am-4pm Please call 0845 6050 455 for more information

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

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 15

Guest Articles

Ladies in Beef call for industry support to boost suckler beef breeding herds The British suckler-beef breeding herd is at its lowest level since the late1980s at 1.57 million head having fallen by over 230,000 head in the past ten years and by 140,000 cows the past four years. The UK suckler beef herd is the second largest in Europe after France, but despite some of the highest EU farm-gate beef prices, this once mighty industry is now the most vulnerable in the livestock sector. Ladies in Beef are calling on farmers (and lady beef farmers especially), livestock markets, abattoirs, processors, retailers, butchers, farm shops, food service and the hospitality sector to support the campaign to raise consumer awareness.

Jilly Greed co-founder of Ladies in Beef said, “In the UK we’ve lost over 140,000 beef-breeding cows over the last four years - that’s an awful lot of empty fields. Sadly there is an industry acceptance that suckler beef is in terminal decline due to poor returns and market and supply chain failures. We just cannot

let this happen without fighting for a more stable future. We have to up our game and increase consumer awareness of why suckler beef is special due to a natural production system of grass, milk, nurturing beef breeds and glorious countryside.”

Ladies in Beef fully

support dairy beef supply chains and the need to maintain volume in the marketplace. However, there is very little product differentiation within the processing sector where ‘beef is beef is beef’. Most consumers assume British beef comes from grassbased traditional suckler beef herds. Yet less than half is suckler beef and

the majority is now a byproduct of the dairy herd.

Minette Batters LIBS co-founder and Deputy President NFU said, “Dairy beef is hugely important to maintain volume, but we have to be much more bullish about suckler beef and the role our grazing herds play in the production of a high quality product, nurtured by milk and grass. There is much we can learn from the poultry industry in product differentiation and grass-based suckler beef resonates with consumers, not just in the UK, but also across the world. Get the branding right and we could see a resurgence in suckler beef production in the UK and profitable returns.”

Taking a lead from the poultry sector and successful product differentiation within the retail and hospitality sector, there is a fresh opportunity to create a greater awareness of suckler beef, promoting the many health, animal welfare and environmental benefits of traditional, naturally raised suckler beef as well as it importance to the land management of the British countryside.

For without our British suckler beef herds and halting the decline, there will be many more empty fields. The outcome is graphically depicted in the AHDB/EBLEX report Landscapes Without Livestock, where the impacts of cherished

landscapes without suckler beef cattle are visualised. http://www.eblex.org. uk/wp/wp-content/ uploads/2013/06/ Landscapes-withoutlivestock-report.pdf In early 2016 leading up to Great British Beef Week (April 23 – May 2), under the umbrella of Save our Sucklers, Ladies in Beef will launch a consumerbased campaign, Great British Beef Nurtured

by Nature, taking a lead from CAMRA and their campaign for real ale, which has successfully raised the profile of British craft beers and halted the homogenisation of the British brewing industry.

Ladies in Beef hope a differentiated, branded suckler product offer will be piloted with a major retailer or within a regional supply chain such as PGI Westcountry beef. Product criteria are that it must be singlesuckled beef and meet Red Tractor assured, Quality Standard Mark standards and Protected Geographic Indicator status if a regional brand.

For more information To pledge support or for more information contact Jilly Greed at jilly@ladiesinbeef. org.uk or visit www. ladiesinbeef.org.uk to sign up online.

EST 2006 EBLEX WINNERS 2013 & 2014

“In the UK we’ve lost over 140,000 beef-breeding cows over the last four years”

CHeCS ACCREDITED FARM ASSURED GOLD STANDARD PERFORMANCE RECORDING BEST LARGE AND OVERALL HERD 2014 & 2015 CORNWALL 3RD DRAFT OF FEMALES PLUS BULLS WORCESTER 7TH MAY 2016

(Left to right foreground) Jilly Greed & Minette Batters, Ladies in Beef co-founders; & Juliet Cleave, Cornish Lady in Beef; with Mark Thomas and his South Devon in the background; at Beef South West (November 2015) during the launch of Save Our Sucklers. page 16 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

Contact John Olds mobile: 07890384094

www.bosahan.org.uk

E-mail: oldsbosahan@aol.com

Bosahan Simmentals

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 17

Environmental Advice

Creating and managing ponds for wildlife on farmland

By Dr Pascale Nicolet (Freshwater Habitats Trust) & Sarah Blyth (RSPB) Ponds support an extraordinary two thirds of all freshwater plants and animals, including those that we easily see, like toads, dragonflies and floating-leaved pondweed, and those that you rarely see unless you dip in with a pond net, like water beetles, the larvae of mayflies and water shrimps.

“Ponds on farmland can be outstanding for wildlife, but all too often they tend to be polluted by nutrients and pesticides.”

On a hot summer day, there’s nothing like sitting by a pond and looking at metallic blue damselflies flying about, or the mad dance of whirligig water beetles on the water surface. If you are really lucky, you might even see a kingfisher with a stickleback in its beak.

The plants are more commonly referred to as ‘weeds’ and often seen as a nuisance but they can be just as interesting and beautiful as the bugs and the birds. But they are in fact essential as they provide everything animals need to live and breed: they release oxygen in the water, they are food and shelter, and a place to lay eggs hidden from predators.

Ponds on farmland can be outstanding for wildlife, but all too often they tend to be polluted by nutrients and pesticides (Fig.2). In many landscapes, a large proportion of farm ponds have long since been

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Figure 2: The condition of countryside ponds according to the Government’s 2006 Countryside Survey: 92% of ponds are degraded, ie in very poor, poor or moderate condition.

infilled to make larger fields or because they are seen as ‘dead’ space. We have lost about half our countryside ponds since the beginning of the 20th century, and those that remain are often in a poor state. So if you have ponds on your land, or have some ‘lost’ spaces where a clean water pond or two could be created, it’s a great opportunity to help wildlife (and enjoy yourself ), and here’s what you should consider.

Creating clean ponds for wildlife Creating clean new ponds is one of the simplest

Figure 1: Common toad © David Orchard

and most effective ways to protect freshwater wildlife. It is also a very enjoyable and satisfying activity as you can then observe this new waterbody becoming a magnet for wildlife, both aquatic and terrestrial.

Over the last six years, the Million Ponds Project has begun to make networks of new ponds across the UK – with the ultimate aim of getting back to the million ponds that existed in the British landscape 100 years ago.

As part of the Million

Ponds Project (http:// freshwaterhabitats.org. uk/projects/millionponds/), we’ve also published the Pond Creation Toolkit online (http://freshwaterhabitats. org.uk/projects/millionponds/pond-creationtoolkit/), with a lot of information about clean water pond creation including designs for different situations, planning permission, and locating ponds, as well as examples of what has already been achieved.

So how do you create a good wildlife pond?

There are three main things to aim for: Good water quality If the

water is polluted, then it’s likely the pond will turn into a relatively lifeless, brown-looking hole in the ground. To avoid this, it’s best not to link new ponds to streams and ditches, as water in these often has a high load of nutrients and sediment and the pond will fill up very quickly. It probably won’t be a very good habitat for plants and animals either. On clay, a new pond can be located where it will be fed by water running over land as long as this catchment area is free from pollution sources. Ponds fed by surface run off often have fluctuations in water levels but this is in fact desirable for a wildlife pond – it creates a drawdown zone (Figure 3 drawdown zone).

Good design Ideally create a complex or network of smaller ponds rather than one larger pond, as this will support

a more diverse wildlife (Figure 4 pond complex).

Lots of shallow water is good (e.g. 0-10cm) and the pond doesn’t need to be deeper than 1m.

This is unless the pond is excavated in sand or gravel in an unpolluted catchment where water quality is exceptional and the water is clear. In this case, light will be able to reach deep enough for plants to grow and provide a good habitat for animals. When designing a pond, it’s also important to think about how it will develop and be managed in the long term (Figure 5 on succession).

Protection from undue disturbance. Ponds near rights of ways or in areas of public access tend to have carp or non-native invasive plant introductions, and in a small water body like a pond this can have disastrous consequences for native wildlife. Carp

eat almost everything and add nutrients in the water column because they are bottom feeders, constantly rummaging in the sediment to find invertebrates to eat. So it is strongly recommended never to add them to ponds or small lakes which are managed for wildlife (as supposed to ponds managed for angling). In grassland with a high cattle density, pond edges tend to become very poached and muddy. Whilst a little disturbance by livestock is welcome to create a more interesting plant community, including tall plants in more protected areas and small or creeping species in more cattle-poached areas, too much disturbance is not good for wildlife.

Should you plant your newly created pond?

Ideally no as this will provide a habitat for those plants and animals

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Figure 3 (above): Fluctuating water levels are good for wildlife because it creates a wide drawdown zone where the margins have a shallow incline. When creating a pond, aim to create a wide drawdown zone at least on part of the margin, if space allows.

can tinker a little and remove species such as bulrush, which tend to eliminate all other plant species if they colonise first.

which are adapted to the conditions of new ponds, including low competition, low nutrient status and plenty of exposed mineral substrate. New ponds colonise really fast anyway, so planting it up just speeds up succession and also runs the risk of introducing unwanted plants and animals which hitch a ride in nursery-bought plant pots. Whether you plant it or not, keep an eye on the pond following excavation so that you page 20 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

Managing existing ponds for wildlife Managing existing ponds is important to maintain the variety of ponds in the landscape. Ideally, for wildlife, the aim is to have many different

types of ponds in a region including large to small,

Figure 4 (below): Create a pond complex rather than one larger waterbody to maximize on site diversity

Figure 5: At sites with no grazing, create larger and deeper ponds to reduce the need for management to keep open water in the longer term. shaded to open, fenced and unfenced, and old to new. Management is particularly important where there is no space for creating new ponds or where a particular species of plant or animal needs a helping hand to survive. Some plants and animals are not very fussy about where they live, but others are really quite specific about the type of pond they are prepared to visit or breed in.

The first question that you

should ask yourself is: Does my pond need management? All too often ponds are managed based on aesthetics rather than wildlife conservation, or just because this is what has always been done. What everybody tends to like is early or mid-succession pond, with a lot of open water, water-lilies and not too many marginal plants.

These ponds can be great for wildlife and if water quality is good, then they usually donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need much management. In contrast, the typical late succession ponds are silty, well-vegetated or shaded, and sometimes even dry out in summer, but even

there â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in the absence of pollution â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it will provide an important habitat for some freshwater plant and animals like alderflies, water beetles and water slaters, and a good feeding or watering ground for bats and other mammals. So if you have more than one pond on your land, then aim to keep a few old ponds untouched and manage a few of them on a rotation.

Then consider if you need to have more information about what lives in the pond, before you potentially make big changes to the existing habitat. The decision somewhat depends on what you start with:

If the pond is a murky black hole surrounded by arable or intensively managed grassland with few, if any, plants, then the chances of the pond having anything very special in it is quite low, so you are basically free to do whatever you like. With a pond like this, dredging to remove (what are probably) polluted sediments is likely to be beneficial. If the banks are steep and there is the space then they can be re-profiled to create more shallow water.

Selected tree removal may also help. Before a lot of resources is spent on a pond like this, though, future pollutant inputs need to be reduced by creating a buffer around

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 21

one nearby!

All in all, whether you are managing or creating a pond, the most important element for a healthy pond which supports a diverse community of aquatic plants and animals is water quality.

If in doubt on what to do, then visit the Pond Clinic, or contact us directly and discuss your pond issues with our experts.

For more information Figure 6: A farm wildlife pond with a marginal and aquatic plant communities

the pond (as wide as you can make it) and blocking polluted inflow drains, otherwise the whole cycle of pollution will begin again.

If the pond is in an intensive land-use area or semi-intensive area (e.g. improved

grassland) and the pond looks interesting (e.g. has a good community of wetland plants), then be cautious with management. Take a soft approach and try and retain a good area of all the different type of plants (tall emergent plant, trees and low growing plants) or habitat types (e.g. willow tree roots) that are present in the pond.

Figure 7: Ponds don’t have to be big – this new farm pond will provide a great habitat for water beetles and other bugs © National Trust page 22 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

If the pond is located in any semi-natural habitat (e.g. old woodland, heathland, unimproved grassland), and ponds in or adjacent to long established wetland areas like river valleys, fens, grazing marsh, then be very careful about what you do to the pond and ideally get a professional survey done beforehand. This is because these ponds often support rare or declining species of plant and animals, and you run the risk of damaging their populations by changing the conditions in the pond. So chopping down one tree may be ok, but de-silting is not recommended before an investigation has been completed or expert advice has been sought.

And at these sites in particular, think about leaving the old pond alone, and creating a new

If you’d like further information about pond management you can contact either: The Freshwater Habitats Trust www. freshwaterhabitats. org.uk or the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds www.rspb.org.uk For more information on any farmland wildlife or agricultural issues visit the RSPB Farming web pages at www.rspb.org.uk/ farming Here you can keep up to date with our farming blog and also register for our regular e-newsletter.

Further information and advice can be found at www. farmwildlife.info

Celebrating 25 years of delivering more sustainable farming LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), the leading organisation delivering more sustainable farming is celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2016.

Since 1991, LEAF has been at the forefront of helping farmers to farm profitably with care for the environment, through Integrated Farm

Management. Its network of LEAF Demonstration Farms and Innovation Centres, technical management tools and services, the LEAF Marque and public engagement activities such as Open Farm Sunday, all help farmers adapt to the changes around them – in our markets, our climate and consumer demands

and expectations.

2016 looks to be a memorable year for LEAF and lots of fundraising activities are planned during this landmark year based around the theme ‘delivering more sustainable food and farming fit for the future’.

Support LEAF and join in the celebrations!

For more information To find out more visit www.leafuk.org and remember to follow all LEAF’s 25th year activities on twitter @LEAF_Farming #LEAF25

THERE’S MORE TO DUCHY AND BICTON COLLEGES THAN YOU THINK. We have an incredible range of specialist courses on your doorstep, across Devon and Cornwall.

From entry-level to postgraduate study, we offer the following:  Agriculture  Animal Management & Vet Nursing  Business  Countryside, Conservation & Gamekeeping  Early Years & Forest School  Equine  Floristry  Food Manufacturing & Technology

 Foundation Learning  Horticulture  Land-based Engineering & Construction Plant  Military Academy  Outdoor Pursuits & Adventure Sports  Public Services  Sport  Tree Surgery

T: 0845 60 50 455 E: enquiries@duchy.ac.uk W: www.duchy.ac.uk

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 23

Developing more environmentally resilient forage mixtures for livestock

By Hannah Jones, University of Reading

Which forage mixture would be most profitable in your farm environment with your management?

The choice of grasses, legumes and herbs is diverse, and the simple ryegrass and white clover mixture may not be the best option in a changing climate with the additional pressures on the cost of fertility inputs. A new project is addressing these challenges.

Maintaining adequate forage productivity throughout the season is difficult and a greater resilience of biomass supply would be desirable for most farmers particularly in very wet or very dry conditions.

The choice of species in a mixture needs to take into account your soil type, drainage and pH; further consideration needs to include rainfall and the need for fertilisation. The correct management of mixtures is essential to maintain the desirable diversity of productive species – how low to graze, and how frequently, and with which livestock?

The choice of species available for forage mixtures, such as with Cotswolds Seeds Ltd, is in fact large, with some of the more diverse mixtures containing up to 30 species, many of which are under-utilised.

A new research project led by the University of Reading with Duchy

College, Rothamsted Research North Wyke and Cotswolds Seeds as partners is focusing on developing biodiverse forage mixtures. We will be developing mixtures with functional diversity to improve biomass supply throughout the season, across a range of soil and climatic conditions, reducing mineral nitrogen inputs and nitrogen leaching and improving the economics of forage

to West, with a further detailed set of trials assessing agronomic performance and forage utilisation for growth of cattle fed both grazed and conserved forage.

The performance of the mixtures will be further assessed under extreme drought and water logged conditions at select experimental sites to simulate potential future productivity in a changing climate.

“Mixtures will be trialled across a minimum of 10 mixed farms from East to West, with a further detailed set of trials assessing agronomic performance and forage utilisation for growth of cattle fed both grazed and conserved forage.”

supply for livestock grazing and conservation.

Mixtures will be trialled across a minimum of 10 mixed farms from East

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The first workshop for this project took place on the 19th January 2016 at Duchy College Stoke Climsland, where the component species in the

Worm egg counts made easier

News

We had a good response from readers following the articles on the low-cost, but sensitive and valid technique for faecal egg counting outlined in our last issue.

Farmers’ profits, rural biodiversity, and consumer choice could all improve significantly by sharing data about the food system. That’s the aim of Agrimetrics - the world’s first big data centre of excellence for the entire food chain, which was launched at its new headquarters in Hertfordshire by George Eustice MP, Minister of State for Farming. Recent food controversies, such as food poisoning, low dairy prices and farming practices that damage Britain’s bees, could all be improved if producers, processors and retailers shared and analysed data more efficiently, say Agrimetrics’ leaders. Agrimetrics will use data from across the food system to provide significant improvements to food markets. This would help iron out uncertainty, ensuring Britain and the world has a secure supply of available and affordable food, while reducing financial and environmental costs.

Agrimetrics will use expertise from within Rothamsted Research, Reading University, the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) and Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC). George Eustice said, “British farmers are increasingly making use of data to help them manage and grow their business and new technology will help us drive up the value of our food and farming industry, already worth £100 billion to our economy.”

mixture, management limitations and participatory farm sites were identified.

For more information If you are interested in this project and wish to received further information please contact Hannah Jones (h.e.jones@ reading.ac.uk) or Chris Reynolds (c.k.reynolds@ reading.ac.uk) The project is funded by the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Innovation Club (SARIC) of the BBSRC.

Would you like to advertise your business and reach over 11,000 farmers and industry representatives?

Please contact us on 0845 458 7485 or email gc@duchy.ac.uk for more information

Agrimetrics: how Big Data will help solve global food problems | Reading University, 26 October 2015

Bees put to work lugging pesticides to flowers | New Scientist, 31 October 2015

The Fill-Flotac and MiniFLOTAC are simple and easy to use and according to Professor Gerald Coles of the School of Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol, make the eggs much easier to see than with a McMaster or FEKPAK slide (please see Issue 50 for more details).

We can confirm that we are therefore proceeding to organise training and make the equipment

available. As this goes to press, we are finalising these details and we will be contacting all those who responded in the near future.

For more information If others are interested, please contact the Healthy Livestock team on 0845 458 7485.

Bee Vectoring Technologies (BVT) in Canada is commercialising the use of bumblebees to carry pesticide as they buzz from plant to plant to collect food. Organic pesticide powder consisting of a Chlonostachys rosea fungus strain and a substance that will assist it sticking to bees legs is placed in hives.

The bees then take it exactly to where it is needed, to the flowers which protect the plant and the future fruit and thereby ensuring savings in pesticide use. BVT claims that 99% of pesticides sprayed in orchards end up in the wrong place. The main crops likely to benefit are apples, pears, blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and peppers.

Eating less meat may not lower emissions | Edinburgh University - Enlightened, January 2016 Reduced meat consumption might not lower greenhouse gas emissions from a major beef Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 25

SWARM hub

Second SIP newsletter out now: building a resilient future

By Gavin Huggett, Project Manager, University of Exeter

The Sustainable Intensification Research Platform is focused on farming in England and Wales, but exists in a global setting of concerns over food security, global nutrition, climate change, economic instability, increasing technology, volatile food prices and threats to sustainability.

This spring farmers in the UK will be dealing with concerns over farm gate prices, bovine TB, blackgrass, the weather, maintaining household incomes and investing in the business for the future, and getting more out of the land with less inputs – all issues relating to the global themes described above.

global issues. We need to establish national priorities to improve the lives of farmers and the rural community – that bring resilience to the sector and workable solutions to real issues that farmers and land owners face. This, in turn will help alleviate some of those challenging global concerns.

This is why SIP is here. It is a national response to

As I reflect on the concept of sustainable

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intensification in my role as project manager for the Platform, SI seems to be all about resilience.

Intensifying the outputs from the land (not just for food production, but what it can do for people and nature) means resilience in the face of current local and global issues. Doing this sustainably means resilience in the face of future challenges.

In this new issue of the SIP newsletter, Caroline Drummond of LEAF in SIPSays writes about the recently agreed UN Sustainable Development Goals, positioning SIP firmly in this global context and describing SIP’s potential as an important vehicle to driving change on the ground. Caroline also highlights the important role of knowledge exchange in the Platform.

If it is to succeed, the programme must establish a two-way dialogue with farmers, politicians and society, to help inform the research and translate it, into something of greatest benefit to all.

One of the key challenges in the work of SIP is how we know whether we have been successful?

Stephen Ramsden describes work being led by the University of Nottingham on developing ways of measuring farm performance in terms of SI. In order to solve some of the local and regional challenges we need to think bigger than individual farms. Carol Morris of the University of

Nottingham summarises for us the findings of a literature review looking at farming collaboration as a potential means to bring about SI across an area.

A key part of SIP is its physical research platform, distributed across seven case study areas and five study farms in England and Wales and encompassing a variety of farming systems. In the first of our Landscape in Focus and Farm in Focus sections, Bangor University’s Prysor Williams talks about the Conwy study catchment and the exciting research happening at the Henfaes Research Centre – a unique study farm that includes both lowland and upland farming.

We also hear from two researchers – John Hyland of Bangor University and John Lynch of the University of Nottingham who describe their experiences on the frontline of the SIP and what makes it so interesting to them.

Finally Sam Durham from the NFU challenges SIP to provide the practical tools that are required to meet the farming industry’s challenges ahead.

For more information To read the full SIP newsletter please visit the SIP website at www.sustainableintensification.org.uk or follow on Twitter @SIPResearch.

News continued from page 25 producing region, research shows. The finding may seem counter-intuitive, as intensive livestock farming is blamed for such a large proportion of global emissions.

According to Scotland’s Rural College and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, reducing beef production in the Brazilian Cerrado could increase global greenhouse gas emissions. While grasslands are not as effective as forests at storing carbon, Brazilian grass – mostly Brachiaria genus – has a greater capacity to do so than grass found in Europe, owing to its long roots. High quality grasslands will cause more carbon to be stored in the soil, which will lead to a decrease in CO2 emissions. In the case of the Brazilian Cerrado, reduced meat consumption could remove the incentive for grassland improvement and therefore lead to higher emissions. Much of Brazil’s grassland is in poor condition, leading to low beef productivity and high greenhouse gas emissions from cattle. However, increasing demand for meat provides an incentive for farmers to recover degraded pastures. This would boost the amount of carbon stored in the soil and increase cattle productivity. It would require less land for grazing and reduce deforestation, potentially lowering emissions.

Europe bans GM crops | New Scientist, 10 October 2015 In a ‘vote against science’, 19 member states of in the European Union, including France, Germany and Italy decided to ban their farmers from growing genetically modified (GM) crops. They were joined by regions within member states such as Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This ban on the cultivation of certain GM crops was despite the EU’s regulators having adjudged that they pose no risk to human health or the environment. A proposal to ban the import of GM crops for animal feed, however, seems to be doomed.

Flowers know how to get bees buzzing | New Scientist, 24 October 2015 Some flowers produce caffeinated nectar, which causes bees to become more active, but less productive. A Sussex University researcher found that the caffeine warps foraging behaviour as bees performed more enthusiastic waggle dances, encouraging more bees to go to the caffeinated source rather than other flowers and so reducing honey production.

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 27

Market Monitor

Feeding more milk makes a difference to calf immunity, growth rates and performance

By Dr Jenny Gibbons, AHDB R&D Manager DairyCo provides a brief overview of the latest economic developments in the dairy industry and also highlights recent research and projects undertaken by DairyCo that may interest dairy farmers and students in the south west.

“Feeding more than 4 litres per day of milk or milk replacer has a positive impact on growth and feed efficiency. ”

Traditionally, feeding regimes involved feeding 2 litres of milk twice per day. However, research and experience from dairy farmers has shown that feeding more than 4 litres per day of milk or milk replacer has a positive impact on growth and feed efficiency. Getting the milk feeding management of your calves right is crucial for optimising growth and lactation performance when they enter the milking herd. But in these hard economic times, are there benefits to offset these higher feed costs?

There are three main benefits: 1. We know that the period from birth to weaning only accounts for a total of 10.8% of the total cost of rearing. Young calves convert feed into growth most efficiently. Feeding more in the first eight weeks of life to achieve higher growth rates will mean that each kilogram of gain is less costly.

2. Many studies have shown that higher milk or milk replacer feeding rates are associated with higher milk production during the first lactation.

On average, calves gaining 1kg a day could be expected to produce about 1,000kg more milk during their first lactation than

page 28 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

calves reared on a traditional system gaining about 500g a day. They are also more likely to reach a second lactation.

Therefore, providing the necessary nutrition to sustain rapid growth rates during the first two months, not only should this result in more efficient (economical) heifer rearing, but also in more effective (greater milk performance) results.

3. There is an improved immune response in calves fed more milk or milk replacer during the preweaned period.

This results in lower treatment costs, less labour to treat sick calves, lower culling rates and possibly an additional milk response from healthier cows.

Dr Jenny Gibbons As part of AHDB Dairy’s ‘Calf to Calving’ meeting series, a number of focus farms have been recruited. These meetings will showcase the best practice from the minute a calf hits the ground through to first calving at 24 months. A group of 10 calves will be monitored and tracked through their life cycle discussing all areas of young stock rearing and management along the way.

To find a meeting near you, visit dairy.ahdb.org. uk/events

Production Outlook News continued from page 27 for 2016 Meat without murder | New Scientist, 31

By Patty Clayton, AHDB Dairy Senior Analyst

The past year saw one of the most sustained periods of low prices seen since world markets crashed in 2007/08 yet the market has remained stubbornly over-supplied. A recovery in prices to more sustainable levels for the whole supply chain is needed but, when this will happen, and how quickly, relies on a combination of three key events: a reduction in milk production, the sale of excess stocks and a rise in demand.

Looking back at how these three aspects of global dairy markets developed in 2015 will show where the markets are now and provide an insight into what can be expected in the next few months.

Milk production in the main producing regions (EU, New Zealand, Australia, US and Argentina) has grown by around 2% annually over the past five years, which is around 5 billion litres more milk per year.

Up until the early part of 2014, the demand for dairy products in countries such as China and Russia was able to absorb most of the increased output, supporting prices. (See Figure 1, overleaf).

The disappearance of the Russian market in the summer of 2014, combined with the stock build-up in China reducing its import needs, meant demand was suddenly too low

Patty Clayton for the rate of growth in milk production.

Imports by China and Russia in the 10 months to October 2015 fell by around 50% compared to the same period in 2014. This represents just under 400,000 tonnes of product, or the equivalent of more than 3.5 billion litres of milk.

This imbalance in the market saw average

October 2015

A bioreactor to grow artificial meat is about to be built in Holland. Cultured meat could use much less water, land and produce far fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Stem cells are taken from animals, fed and allowed to divide and grow into chunks of muscle cells. The difficulty is in keeping them alive as all the cells need oxygen and food; the cells in the centre of a blob of material will die for lack of oxygen. The cells have therefore been adapted to function in a suspension.

Bovine foetal serum from unborn calves from cull cows is used for its nutrients and growth hormone.

The resultant ‘meat’ is only muscle and without blood and fat, lacking in flavour. This problem is still to be overcome; nevertheless Mosa Meat believes that they can compete within the meat or imitation meat sector.

Neonicotinoids blunt pollination | New Scientist, 21 November 2015 Apple trees pollinated by bumblebees exposed to neonicotinoids contained 36% fewer seeds than those pollinated by unexposed bees. Research at London University is the first to show that neonicotinoids impair the insects’ ability to pollinate plants. Some 30% of agricultural crops depend on pollination by insects.

The researchers found that the exposed bees visited the flowers less frequently and as a consequence collected less pollen, resulting in fewer seeds.

Wild beavers making a splash | New Scientist, 21 November 2015 Beavers became extinct in Britain 500 years ago, but now some have been reintroduced in Scotland and Devon. Exeter University researchers have found that beaver dams prevent flooding through holding water back during heavy rains and droughts. Some believe that such activity could have alleviated the flooding in the Somerset levels in 2014, if for example beavers were allowed to be active at the headwaters of major river systems and so preventing flooding downstream. The beaver dams were also found to have reduced sediment from farmland in the water.

Researchers claimed that the nutrients in the sediment fertilised mosses and plants and attracted insects, frogs and birds. The worry is that beavers will block drainage ditches and wreck crops and also obstruct spawning and fish migration. The Environment Agency is keeping an eye on all such research to see if the benefits of reintroducing beavers outweigh the risks.

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 29

Diary Dates

Figure 1: Source, Eurostat, DCANZ, USDA, Informa global prices for dairy products, based on Fonterra auction results, drop by 6% through 2015.

Milk supplies, however, continued to increase, fuelled primarily by growth in the EU resulting from the removal of quotas in April 2015. (See figure 2, below).

Figure 2

With a large chunk of import demand taken away by China and Russia, the excess milk has ended up as accumulated stocks. EU stocks of skim milk powder (SMP) and cheese are reported to be at their highest levels in at least five years while US commercial stocks of milk powders hit a record high in the summer of 2015. According to the US Dairy Export Council, there were approximately

400,000 tonnes of milk powder in inventories as of December 2015.

This amount of stock represents just under 20% of annual imports of milk powders.

The net impact of developments in production, stock accumulation and import demand is that, while some areas are starting to show a slowdown in production, the market continues to be

burdened with too much milk. Forecasts for 2016 suggest growth in US and EU milk production although it is expected that the EU will grow at a slower rate, while NZ is expected to produce anywhere from 3%-6% less milk depending on the impact of the El Niño on grazing conditions.

How much extra the EU produces in 2016 will be largely dependent on the spring peak and quality of grazing, with most of the retraction in milk supplies not expected to occur until the second half of the year.

While demand for dairy products is expected to continue to grow at a global level, predominately in developing countries, the stock levels will need to return to more normal levels before we see a sustainable recovery in prices.

Date/Time

Venue

County

Safe use of pesticides – Grandfather rights – PA6

25/02/16 9am4pm

DCS

Cornwall £200

RBS

Herdsperson course (Dairy)

27/02/16 9am5pm

DCS

Cornwall £275

RBS

Introduction to welding

27/02/16 9.30am-3.30pm

DCS

Cornwall £99

RBS

Herdsperson course (Dairy)

05/03/16 9am5pm

DCS

Cornwall £275

RBS

Caring for your chickens

12/03/16 9.30am-1pm

DCR

Cornwall £20

RBS

Training you and your 12/03/16 1pmgundog 4pm

DCR

Cornwall £25

RBS

Junior tractor driving

04-05/04/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £185

RBS

Junior tractor driving

06-07/04/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £185

RBS

Grafting workshop

06/04/16 10am3pm

DCR

Cornwall £65

RBS

Safe use of quad bikes & routine maintenance

11-12/04/16 9.30am-4pm

Devon Tamara Training, Bere Alston, PL20 7EB

Discover, innovate & grow

Deer butchery course 14/04/16 9am5.30pm

Join AHDB Dairy for their 1st Dairy Research Seminar – Discover, Innovate and Grow on 1st and 2nd March 2016 in Kegworth, Derbyshire.

Safe use of quad bikes & routine maintenance

To find out more and to register, visit dairy. ahdb.org.uk/dig or call Jenna Porch on 02476 478690.

page 30 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

Course title

18-19/04/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cost

£285

Cornwall £99

Devon Tamara Training, Bere Alston, PL20 7EB

£285

Contact

RBS

RBS

RBS

Short courses at Bicton College Bicton College has a wealth of short course provision on offer, courses include: Pesticides Telehandler First aid Chainsaws and tree-felling

Lambing

Brushcutter

Tractor driving

Lambing Sunday 20th March 10am

Full details in our next issue. Meanwhile, please check the Bicton College website www.bicton.ac.uk and the RBS website www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk

Spring 2016 | The Rural Business School | page 31

Course title

Date/Time

Venue

County

Bread and patisserie workshop

19/04/16 9am4pm

DCS

Cornwall £75

RBS

Emergency first aid at 22/04/16 9amwork – Level 2 4pm

DCR

Cornwall £95

RBS

Devon Tamara Training, Bere Alston, PL20 7EB

25-26/04/16 9.30am-4pm

Safe use of quad bikes & routine maintenance

Cost

£285

Contact

RBS

Emergency first aid at 27/04/16 9amwork – Level 2 4pm

DCS

Cornwall £95

RBS

Introduction to welding

30/04/16 9.30am-3.30pm

DCS

Cornwall £99

RBS

Beekeeping for beginners

07/05/16 9.30am-4.15pm

DCS

Cornwall £165

RBS

Beekeeping for beginners

14/05/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £165

RBS

Beekeeping for beginners

21/05/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £165

RBS

Introduction to beekeeping

22/05/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £60

RBS

Next steps in beekeeping

19/06/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £125

RBS

Next steps in beekeeping

02/07/16 9.30am-4pm

DCS

Cornwall £125

RBS

Key to icons

For more information

Agriculture general

Dairy

Beef

Sheep

Poultry

Arable/Crop Production

Resource Management

Machinery

Pets

CPD

Countryside

Rural Crafts

Equine

Leadership & Management

Food & Drink

Forestry

Horticulture

General/ Other

page 32 | The Rural Business School | Spring 2016

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

Our full list of events is available at: www.ruralbusinessschool.org.uk

Key to abbreviations DCR - Duchy College Rosewarne DCS - Duchy College Stoke Climsland BIC - Bicton College ESF - European Social Funded (eligibility rules apply)