Synergies within the Produce Marketing Group
1) Business Financial Analysis
The first project currently underway involves conducting a Farm Business Survey on a sample of farms participating in the Lamb Producer Group to assist them to become more aware of the costs associated with business management as well as allowing the farmers to benchmark their performance against other farmers in the group. This builds on work undertaken by Technical Services Division (WAG) published in March 2009 looking at the impact of support payments made from central government and their effect upon profit levels. This study has been carried out by looking at the data held by WAG on farm areas and all associated scheme payments be they SFP right through to old ESA schemes.
The survey will provide information to the Ecosystem Services Group, on how important support payments are for those groups of farmers in maintaining existing habitats, landscapes and environmental features as well as potential modelling future agricultural support mechanisms, in light of changes to the CAP2 and Axis 23 (post 2013) may potentially impact on farm businesses. This will allow options to be developed where land management payments can be made based on Carbon and Water management prescriptions.
2 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reform which (as the Health Check proposals and "challenge agenda" published by the European Commission in May 2008) will require adaptation as support is shifted towards rural development measures and the wider environment objectives of the Welsh Assembly Government, which will mean not only farmers need to connect more strongly with their markets but also rural development measures will need to be strengthened to tackle the new challenges.
3 CAP support (post 2013) via Axis 2 will require concerted action on the part of land managers to contribute towards achieving those objectives, for example through conserving soil carbon.
2) Carbon Footprinting of Farm Businesses.
The second project that is underway relates to the measurement of the existing Carbon Footprint of those farm businesses participating in the Lamb Producer Group. Carbon accounting is concerned with estimating the total amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted during the production, processing and retailing of agricultural and food products.
In order to calculate their carbon footprint, each of the farms participating in the Lamb Producer Group will be surveyed to gather information to quantify ‘carbon sources’ such as farm inputs i.e. fuel, fertiliser, pesticides, feed concentrates, livestock rates and farm outputs i.e kg of live weight/crops/milk sold as well calculating ‘carbon sinks’ i.e. area of farm woodland, unmanaged peat lands and other unmanaged/non-productive areas of land.
Bearing in mind the extensive nature of farm management systems in the Cambrian Mountains i.e. low stocking levels, low usage of farm inputs e.g fertiliser (nitrogen), fuel (carbon), these results should provide individual farms with information of their holding status on carbon sequestration. Farms participating in the Cambrian Mountains Lamb Producer Group can use the results to give their product a stronger and positive marketing advantage e.g. logo over other lamb currently on sale whilst assisting them to work towards the agreed Farmers Marketing Principles, which states "Farmers will aspire to reduce their Carbon Footprint".
Summary of CMI Carbon Footprinting Project
Summary of CMI Carbon Footprinting Project (45k)