UK Agriculture Research Articles

Estimating net energy requirements of male Djallonke sheep

Context Energy requirements in sheep can vary significantly due to various factors, including age, breed, sex and environmental conditions. Genetic selection and crossbreeding further contribute to this variability. Although guidelines from the US and UK national research councils are commonly used for formulating sheep diets, they may not adequately account for the unique characteristics of sheep in Africa. Aims The study aimed to estimate the net maintenance energy requirement of male Djallonke sheep. This estimation will provide a basis for comparing the energy requirements of Djallonke sheep with national recommendations and recent estimates for other sheep breeds. Methods Sixteen entire male Djallonke sheep were selected and grouped by weight. They were then randomly allocated to four treatment groups in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. The sheep were fed to achieve intake levels ranging from 1 to 1.75 multiples of their maintenance energy requirement. Gas exchange data were collected using the GreenFeed system over a 3-day period at the conclusion of each treatment period. Heat production was calculated using the established Brouwer’s equation. A linear regression equation was developed to relate heat production to metabolisable energy intake scaled by metabolic bodyweight to calculate the net energy for maintenance. Key results The estimated net energy for maintenance for male Djallonke sheep was determined to be 0.354 MJ/kg BW0.75. This estimation indicated that the energy requirements of male Djallonke sheep exceeded the recommendations provided by the US National Research Council and the UK Agricultural and Food Research Council. However, it closely aligned with an updated estimate of 0.358 MJ/kg BW0.75. Conclusions Based on the study’s findings, male Djallonke sheep have higher energy requirements for maintenance than what is commonly recommended by existing guidelines. Therefore, it is advisable to update ration formulation software for male Djallonke sheep to better reflect their actual energy requirements for maintenance. Implications These results have practical implications for the formulation of diets and feeding management practices for male Djallonke sheep. Adhering to updated energy requirement estimates can help improve the efficiency and productivity of sheep production in the context of Djallonke sheep farming.

Update on liver fluke in sheep and cattle

Fasciola hepatica, the common liver fluke, affects the health and welfare of grazing animals worldwide. Liver fluke infection has a significant economic cost to the UK agriculture industry through sheep deaths, reduced growth rates, fertility and milk production in sheep and cattle and condemned livers at the abattoir. Changing weather patterns in the UK over recent years have often resulted in milder winters and summers that may be hot or wet but are above all unpredictable, affecting the epidemiology of liver fluke. This poses a risk for farmers relying on traditional calendar-based treatment routines, who may be caught out by liver fluke risk periods that are longer and extend beyond what would traditionally have been expected. Triclabendazole resistance is an increasing problem in many parts of the country and with no new flukicides on the horizon, existing products need to be used responsibly to ensure they remain useful for as long as possible.

Identifying levers for change in UK grazing livestock systems

There is an urgent need for transformational change in global and UK agriculture. Current practices undermine the long-term future of farming and impoverish ecosystems in the UK and elsewhere. However, change is not happening at the scale and pace which is needed. Work by David Abson, drawing on ideas by Donella Meadows, explored this failure of progress and proposed a research agenda focused on transformational leverage points which influence sustainability. These points are centred on three realms of leverage: reconnecting people to nature, restructuring institutions and rethinking how knowledge is created and used in pursuit of sustainability. In this paper, these ideas are explored through a combined researcher/stakeholder workshop focused on transformational change in UK livestock systems. Workshop participants were asked to discuss and identify potential levers of change under the three realms identified by Abson. The multiplicity of levers identified and the interactions across realms emphasise the need for new kinds of knowledge creation which are highly transdisciplinary, as well as emphasising the complexity of levers which are likely to play a role in the transformation of livestock food systems in the UK and elsewhere.

A framework for improved predictions of the climate impacts on potential yields of UK winter wheat and its applicability to other UK crops

Changes in the frequency of extreme weather events related to climate change potentially pose significant challenges to UK agricultural production. There is a need for improved climate change risk assessments to support adaptation strategies and to ensure security of food production in future.We describe an innovative and practical framework for spatially explicit modelling of climate change impacts on crop yields, based on the UKCP18 climate projections. Our approach allows the integration of relatively simple crop growth models with high spatial and temporal resolution Earth Observation datasets, describing changes in crop growth parameters within year and over the longer term. We focus on modelling winter wheat, a commercially important crop. We evaluate the results of the model against precision yield data collected from 719 fields. We show that the assimilation of leaf area index data from Sentinel-2 satellite observations improves the agreement of the modelled yields with those observed. Our national-scale results indicate that wheat production initially becomes more favourable under climate change across much of the UK with the projected increase in temperature. From 2050 onwards, yields increase northwards, whilst they decline in South East England as the decrease in precipitation offsets the benefits of rising temperature.Our framework can readily accommodate growth models for other crops and LAI retrievals from other satellite sensors. The ability to explore impacts of crop yields at fine spatial resolutions is an important part of assessing the potential risks of climate change to UK agriculture and of designing more climate resilient agricultural systems.

Implications and impacts of aligning regional agriculture with a healthy diet

One of the most intractable challenges currently facing agricultural systems is the need to produce sufficient food for all to enjoy a healthy balanced diet while minimising impacts to the environment. Balancing these competing goals is especially intractable because most food systems are not locally bounded. This study aims to investigate the likely impacts on production, profit and the environment that result from aligning food systems to a healthy diet, as defined by EAT-Lancet. For this, we consider two distinct areas of the UK, one in East Anglia and the other in South Wales. These two regions reflect different ecosystems and therefore differing specialisations in UK agriculture. We used the Rothamsted Landscape Model (a detailed agroecosystems process-based model) to predict soil carbon dynamics, nutrient flows and crop production for the dominant crops grown in these regions, and the IPCC inventory models to estimate emissions from six livestock systems. Two scenarios were considered, one in which the study regions had to meet healthy diet requirements independently of each other and another in which they could do so collectively. To map their production to healthy diets, both study areas require increases in the production of plant proteins and reductions in the production of red meat. While changes in production can feed more people a healthy diet compared to the business-as-usual state, the overall calories produced reduces dramatically. Emissions and leaching decrease under the healthy diet scenarios and pesticide impacts remain largely unchanged. We show that local infrastructure and environment have a bearing on how “localised” food systems can be without running into substantial constraints. Whilst isolation of the farming system to a regional level, as explored here, is unlikely to be practical, we nevertheless demonstrate that aligning agricultural production towards healthier diets can generate food systems with many associated benefits in terms of agroecosystems' health and resilience to shocks in the food supply chain.

Linking Entrepreneurship to Productivity: Using a Composite Indicator for Farm-Level Innovation in UK Agriculture with Secondary Data

In agriculture, the intricate relationship between innovation, productivity, and entrepreneurship is underexplored. Despite the widely recognized role of innovation in driving productivity, concrete indicators and comprehensive farm-level studies are lacking. This research aims to unravel this complexity by exploring the impact of innovation, specifically in agricultural entrepreneurship, on transformative changes in farm productivity. The work presented in this manuscript explores how farm-level data derived from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) for the period between 2003 and 2014 is used to identify innovators and to assesses changes in productivity, technical efficiency, and economic efficiency. Therefore, it aims to contribute to comprehensively exploring the role of innovation, particularly within the context of entrepreneurship in agriculture, and its influence on driving transformative changes in farm productivity. Results reveal significant productivity variation and a moderate overall improvement. Furthermore, investment in human resources, particularly managerial input, significantly enhances farm productivity across various models, indicating experienced managers utilize technology effectively. Notably, management and human capital innovation drive positive productivity changes in the UK cereal sector for the period 2003–2014, surpassing technological advancements. Efficient farmers leverage experience to benefit from operational scale changes, emphasizing the importance of accumulated knowledge. Hence, policy interventions should recognize these nuances; while promoting vocational training aids technology adoption, it may not spur management innovation. Thus, strategies must balance various aspects to effectively foster innovation in agriculture, considering both technological and managerial advancements for sustained productivity growth. The study advocates for a departure from the ‘bigger is better’ mentality, proposing educational programs and support services to encourage informed decision-making. This forward-looking approach aims to inform future policies and enhance understanding of the intricate dynamics between agricultural innovation, productivity, and entrepreneurship.

State of Knowledge on UK Agricultural Peatlands for Food Production and the Net Zero Transition

Agricultural peatlands are the most productive soils in the UK for the cultivation of many food crops. Historical drainage of peat for agriculture (i.e., cropland and managed grassland), without consideration of other associated environmental and climatic impacts, has resulted in a significant emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs). There is a need to reduce GHG emissions without compromising the rural economy and jeopardizing food security in the UK to a greater extent than is currently being experienced. In March 2023, in a bid to identify alternative land management systems for agricultural peatlands to support the UK’s commitment to achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050, a group of forty investigators met at a workshop convened by the AgriFood4NetZero Network+. The workshop reviewed the state of knowledge surrounding the Fens of Eastern England and their importance for food provision, the economy, cultural identity, and climate change mitigation. A broad consensus emerged for research into how GHG emissions from agricultural peatlands could be reduced, whether alternative farming methods, such as seasonal farming or paludiculture, would offer a solution, and how a localized approach for the Fens could be defined. The development of a holistic, inclusive, and plausible land use scenario that considers all aspects of ecosystem services provided by the Fens is urgently needed.

Constrained rural entrepreneurship: Upland farmer responses to the socio-political challenges in England's beef and sheep sector

UK farmers are facing significant uncertainty due to recent post-Brexit policy changes. Upland farmers in England are particularly at risk, due to their high dependence on European subsidy support payments. Farm entrepreneurship strategies may be a viable solution for these farmers to achieve economic sustainability while continuing to make valuable social and environmental contributions via multifunctional enterprises. However, many socio-economic constraints often prevent farmers from implementing these strategies. This paper builds upon existing research on ‘constrained entrepreneurship in UK agriculture’ by examining the Constrained Institutional Contexts that upland farmers operate within. Using a qualitative approach, the paper explores and theorizes how upland farmers are constrained by exogeneous forces which control access to and dependence on resources. The findings highlight the importance of a supportive rural environment for farm entrepreneurship; however, they also reveal that the success of such strategies is often beyond the control of individual farmers and policy support is often necessary to alleviate these constraints.

Asymmetric Effects of Energy Inflation, Agri-inflation and CPI on Agricultural Output: Evidence from NARDL and SVAR Models for the UK

This paper investigates the effects of inflation in the UK energy, agriculture and consumer sectors on agricultural output, using monthly data between February 2015 and October 2022. Existing studies on agricultural inflation – agflation – explore the impact on economic activity vis-a-vis unemployment, consumption, interest rates and agricultural production. In this paper, we consider some of the causes of agflation, particularly the role of energy prices that are of great importance at the time of writing, to the supply of food. In addition, we consider the broader context of energy price fluctuations and uncertainty. Our approach adopts a Non-Linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL), Structural Vector Auto Regression model (SVAR), including impulse response analysis. Our findings suggest the increase in energy inflation agflation and CPI, adversely affect agricultural output, while decreases in energy inflation, agflation and CPI positively affect agricultural output in the UK. These should be of significant interest to hedge fund managers, institutional investors and economic policymakers, particularly with regard to hedging and portfolio risk diversification strategies.

Public money for public goods: The role of ideas in driving agriculture policy in the EU and post-Brexit UK

The role played by concepts and ideas in driving policy transformations has been much discussed in the political science literature. This paper presents a case study of ideas and the extent to which they drive policy change, drawing on the example of the Public Money for Public Goods (PMPG) principle in relation to the reform of EU and UK agriculture policy. We assess the factors which have promoted the adoption of the PMPG principle and the extent to which it is currently being realised under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and the UK's post-Brexit agriculture policies. Drawing on a range of expert interviews, we find that policy concepts such as this have the capacity to be utilised by policymakers when looking to solve ‘wicked’ policy problems, and once mobilised, can gradually gain acceptance amongst stakeholders, lobbyists and policymakers over time. However, we also report evidence of dilution and mission creep, with a gap emerging between the original idea, its interpretation, and how it is realised in the messy world of policy advocacy and resistance. We conclude that advocates of the PMPG principle need to seize some recent windows of opportunities under an emerging set of post-Brexit set of land management schemes to further develop and implement this important policy idea.

BCPC Congress 2022 – Providing Policy and Regulatory Support for Multi-functional UK Agriculture

BCPC Congress 2022 ‐ providing policy and regulatory support for multi-functional UK agriculture Robin Blake and Graham Matthews, Outlooks on Pest Management Board MembersThe BCPC Congress returned to Harrogate, UK on 8 and 9 November 2022 with over 130 people in attendance under the theme of “Providing policy and regulatory support for multi-functional UK agriculture”. The Congress was opened by Julian Westaway (General Manager, British Crop Production Council, BCPC) who welcomed the attendees and said a few brief words of introduction before handing over to the chair for the plenary session, Tony Pexton (Farmer, BCPC).There were two streams ‐ Stream A ‐ Regulatory Affairs and Stream B ‐ Future Developments in Pest, Disease and Weed Control.

BCPC Congress 2022 – Delivers an Insight Into the Future of UK Agriculture

This year's BCPC Congress, returned to Harrogate on 7 and 8 November, and was attended by over 130 participants. Addressing the theme of 'Providing policy and regulatory support for multi-functional UK agriculture' the speakers – some presenting to the delegates on-line – delivered informative, thought-provoking and at times controversial presentations covering a range of issues. BCPC's General Manager, Julian Westaway said he was delighted that the Congress has again attracted such positive interest. The programme enabled them to deliver a great mix of authoritative speakers. Analysing the two days, there were key themes which were repeated throughout, namely agricultural policy, land-use and food security, future pesticide regulation in the UK, current pesticide regulatory issues, possible changes to pesticide management, current and future challenges to pesticide use.

UK agriculture at a crossroads

UK farming is at a crossroads. Its continued dependency on decoupled direct payments, shortage of investment finance, difficulties in changing cost structure and the reduced scope to differentiate and diversity sources of farm revenue, exacerbated by the unprecedented increases in the price of key inputs, means farmers face stark choices with fewer remaining effective management options. This study reviews two previous crossroads moments in UK agriculture and considers how the current crossroads moment is different from those. It then provides an estimate of the impacts of the current challenges on the size of the future farming population, based on the methodology used by McInerney. The inter-farm distribution of assets, debts and earnings, differences in farm specialisation, availability of finance and farm-succession arrangements mean it is not easy to identify which individual farms are most likely to fail. Nevertheless, upland grazing, lowland grazing and mixed farm-types seem to be the most vulnerable. Assuming low but realistic returns to fixed and working capital and income/farm, the future farming population is estimated to be 138,000: a 23% reduction from the number of 2019 farming population. The population falls to 15,000 if all subsidies paid in 2021 are removed from the calculation. The actual fall will be smaller than this because farmers will develop new revenue streams and farming systems. But a reduction even approaching 23% is likely to result in more generous assistance being made available, and perhaps even a reversal of some key elements of the new policies.

Constrained entrepreneurship in UK agriculture: A Weberian analysis

This conceptual paper draws on Max Weber's Iron Cage metaphor to explore its value in understanding how farmers are responding to the institutional contexts that influence and constrain entrepreneurial activities. We create Ideal Types of farmers, farm businesses and farm business strategies to provide a nuanced understanding into the heterogeneous ways Upland farmers are navigating and responding to ever-shifting Constrained Institutional Contexts (CIC's). We examine Weber's original cage metaphor, and draw on its limitations by framing it alternatively to provide a unique lens to examine the UK farming context. We add clarity into how farmers are responding to the challenges arising from the contexts within which they operate, providing a strong theoretical underpinning that can be used by other scholars to examine constrained rural entrepreneurship.

Is UK Agriculture Going the Same Way As the Coal and Steel Industry in the 1980s?

Four months ago, I was involved in a discussion on the future challenges for UK crop production in the light of increasing future environmental issues. The focus of the discussion was the highly ambitious goal of reaching net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across the whole of agriculture in England and Wales by 2040, along with the new subsidy system in the UK associated with the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS). My first contribution to the discussion was to ask the question that is the title of this editorial because there was little discussion on any need for maximising productivity of agriculture and food production in the UK. This discussion was before the invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent global consequences, so perhaps the focus of UK Agricultural strategy in the UK and elsewhere may be re-directed, although I have not seen any evidence of this yet. I have looked further into the background behind the two headlines. The comments on the role of the farmer to grow food for the nation were associated with a presentation by the NFU President, Minette Batters to the 2022 Annual NFU Conference. She presented the issues and challenges for UK Agriculture and was critical of DEFRA's path to Sustainable Farming; a 3-year transition plan which sets out plans for a range of schemes including initiatives to increase biodiversity, restore landscapes, promote animal welfare and increase productivity through investment in new equipment and technology. Central to the new regime is the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELMS). Future subsidies for UK farmers, replacing the old EU CAP, will be split between the sustainable farming initiatives; large-scale nature schemes, such as rewilding; and farm-level wildlife projects. My intention in this editorial is not to become involved in political discussions, but I do question if there should be a rethink in government policies, which have been stated as being focussed on anything other than domestic food production. In addition, if it is true that we can expect 40% of crops lost to pests, surely we should put some effort into reducing this?

The role of small abattoirs in the delivery of the UK's new agricultural policy objectives

This study examines the impacts of the reduction in the network of private kill abattoirs on the delivery of public goods supported under the redesigned UK agriculture policy. An online survey was used to gather information about farmers selection and use of abattoirs, and a telephone survey of abattoir owners and managers complemented the farmer survey. Of the 300 respondents, 185 used abattoirs for private kill retail (PKR) services. 121 of these PKR farmers (65.4%) reported their PKR business as “essential” “or “very important” to the viability of their farm business. Seventy-five (41%) had no alternative abattoir, 21 of these 75 would have to close their PKR business if the abattoir they currently used closed, 22.7% would reduce their grassland area, releasing greenhouse gases, and 30% would stop farming native breeds, reducing the gene pool and conservation grazing environmental management options. 110 PKR farmers did have a viable alternative abattoir, but using it would increase livestock journeys, increasing greenhouse gas emissions and making it more likely farmers would need to use commercial rather than farm transport, further jeopardising animal welfare and biosecurity. Therefore, the continuing closure of private kill services threatens core government policy objectives. However, private kill services could be supported by government grant schemes, resolving confusion regarding food labelling, and reducing small abattoir costs by introducing “de minimis” derogation – as currently used on some Channel Island and mainland Europe abattoirs.

Liberalizing Immigration Policies for the UK Agricultural Sector in the Post-Brexit Era

We investigate the effects of immigration policies on the UK agricultural sector under the new post-Brexit deal through a computable general equilibrium framework. We consider bilateral flows of migrants and frictions as part of capital and labor mobility to compare the point-based immigration system to open immigration policies in terms of their impacts on agriculture. We also integrate the GTAP-GMig2 immigration model with the GTAP-AGR agriculture model. Our findings show that liberal immigration policies have positive effects on production, farmers’ income, and overall welfare. The benefits increase if these policies are combined with reduced bureaucracy and lower behind-the-border costs in trade relationships.

BCPC Congress Harrogate November 2021

The 2021 BCPC Congress was held in Harrogate on 2nd and 3rd November and entitled "Providing policy and regulatory support for multi-functional UK agriculture". Julian Westaway (BCPC) opened the congress, welcomed the attendees, described how delighted he was to have this event back in a face to face capacity and thanked the sponsors – Oxford Analytical, Enviresearch, Blue Frog Scientific, Labcorp, TSG, AHDB, BCPC and International Pest Control. Tony Pexton OBE, a Yorkshire farmer and a BCPC Trustee, was the chair of the opening plenary session on the "UK National Action Plan (NAP) for pesticides and new breeding techniques". He introduced the many international challenges facing the agricultural industry including malnourishment and the need to grow more food, climate change and the hopes of COP26, increasing concerns about techniques such as deforestation and materials used in food production, technology such as robotics becoming mainstream, and the implications from Brexit that now allow us to have more independence in setting our own rules.

Report from the Agri-Food Charities Partnerships (AFCP) Forum on Management of Oilseed Rape Diseases and Pests

In his welcome and introduction, Graham Jellis, the AFCP Chairman, firstly explained that the Forum was a hybrid event, with around 25 participants in person at the University of Hertfordshire and up to 100 joining online from the UK and abroad. He expressed his gratitude to the University of Hertfordshire for hosting the Forum. Graham explained that the purpose of AFCP is to allow the various agricultural sector charities in the UK to communicate and work together, wherever possible, to benefit UK agriculture and beyond. Further details on the AFCP and its member charities can be found on: https://www.afcp.org.uk. AFCP member charities have funded much of the research on oilseed rape pests and diseases being presented at this Forum.

A Literature Review of Biological and Bio-Rational Control Strategies for Slugs: Current Research and Future Prospects.

Simple SummaryTerrestrial molluscs (slugs and snails) pose a major threat to agriculture, causing severe yield losses in a wide range of crops worldwide. The limited number of chemical molluscicides on the market, along with their negative impact on nontarget organisms and the environment, make mollusc control a real concern for growers and farmers. Therefore, the exploration of alternative, effective and eco-friendly control measures has become a dire need. This study focuses on slugs, as opposed to snails, and reviews the literature on three natural enemies of slugs, namely nematodes, carabid beetles and marsh flies, along with various natural products with slug control potential (for example, essential oils), and this study contributes to providing a comprehensive understanding of how slugs can be better controlled by using nonchemical measures. In doing so, this study also draws attention to the limitations of current research and discusses some important future research avenues in order to develop effective nonchemical slug control measures.Terrestrial gastropod molluscs (slugs and snails) (Mollusca: Gastropoda) cause significant crop damage around the world. There is no formal approach for differentiating between slugs and snails; however, an organism is usually considered a slug when there is no external shell, or when the shell is small in comparison to the body, and a snail when there is a large external shell. Although snails are an important pest of many crops, this review focuses on slug pests and their nonchemical control measures. A recent study by the UK Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board concluded that the failure to control slugs could cost the UK agriculture industry over GBP 100 million annually, with similar figures reported around the world. Whilst slugs are mostly controlled using chemical molluscicide products, some actives have come under scrutiny due to their detrimental environmental effects and impact on nontarget organisms. This has resulted in the ban of actives such as methiocarb in the UK and EU, and, more recently, the ban of metaldehyde in the UK. Therefore, there is an urgent need to find alternative and effective nontoxic solutions in the interest of global food security. In this paper, we have integrated extant literature on the three main biological control agents of slugs, namely nematodes, carabid beetles and sciomyzid flies, and various promising bio-rational slug control strategies. The review also highlights current research gaps and indicates some relevant potential future directions towards developing environmentally benign slug control solutions.