This week's issue of Farmers Weekly will carry some design enhancements to improve signposting of sections and simply update the look of one of Britian's best selling business magazines. It's been four years since we changed the presentation of FW and we felt it was time to have a freshen up. The FW brand is 75 years old this June and, there's no doubt about it, it wouldn't have survived that long if the magazine had not changed along the way.
The main pages subject to a bit of a makeover are the contents spread telling readers where everything is, the columnist pages and the opening of the technical sections. We have also tried to do a better job of pointing readers to what's available on our website www.fwi.co.uk to make sure they don't miss out on all the extra content and services that's there and it's free. The magazine and website complement each other and are delivered by one team.
Those in the property market may have noticed more significant changes made to our twice a year subscription publication Farmland Market. See Phil Clarke's agribusiness blog. Business Editor and Farmland Market Editor Ian Ashbridge has led a fantastic revamp of this magazine, which includes a more modern design, better paper stock, latest farmland price data from the Valuations Office Agency and a detailed look at where land values could go in the rest of 2009. We've also strengthened our links with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. If you are interested in subscribing call: 01444 445566 (£95).
I'm really proud of what our design and production team have achieved this year. They are now a fully fledged multi media desk handling web and print content, text, photography and video. Good design is such a subjective thing but it can make or break magazines, particularly nowadays when they are having to compete with more interactive media like television and internet.
Keeping magazines and websites moving forward in line with reader and user needs is critical. We've been doing it for years but are not complacent. And it looks as if our efforts have been recognised in the wider publishing world.
In the last week, the Farmers Weekly Group has been shortlisted for a record eight times in two major publishing and digital media Awards, which recognise and reward editorial and publishing excellence.
The weekly magazine, our website and four members of the team will be competing for the prizes next month in two separate Award schemes organised by the Periodical Publishers Association and the Association of Online Publishers. The categories are all independently judged but the competition will be fierce. Fingers crossed and we will keep you posted as to progress. Once you've seen this week's issue, let us know what you think of the design tweaks by sharing your thoughts on our forums.
Tesco may have a love/hate relationship with farmers but it would be churlish not to acknowledge the retailer as a great British success story on a global scale.
It’s pre-tax profits of more than £3bn have drawn mixed feelings. Comments from forum users on fwi.space.co.uk range from the furious “its blood money, bled from suppliers” to the pragmatic “success comes at a price”.
Those farmers supplying the retailer are justifiably proud of their contribution and connection to the Tesco brand and the benefits it brings to the national economy. After all, it is a remarkable performance under terrible economic conditions and there’s the promise of another 11,000 new jobs created through store expansion. Let’s not forget that many farm businesses are expanding too as a result of this growth.
About one third of all supermarket sales are now made in a Tesco store and British shoppers, despite the recession, are still spending on food thanks to the quality and value offered by British producers.
But we are probably at the point where its dominance has gone too far. Primary producer margins have been relentlessly squeezed for years and Tesco’s image as a bully within the food chain is renowned.
Global brands thrive when they clearly demonstrate responsibility to their customers, suppliers and shareholders. In Tesco’s case it is the suppliers that are getting the raw end of the deal. Most consumers, even in difficult times, understand that cheap prices are not everything and that fairness to farmers is vital if we want sustainable food chains. Tesco’s proposition will never be as good if its cavalier methods force too many suppliers out of business.
Paying a price to all that fairly reflects the costs of production is a reasonable request that Tesco will not honour voluntarily. Therefore the only way of ensuring a more equitable approach is to introduce a supermarket watchdog with real teeth. The Competition Commission is to make a decision on an ombudsman and code of practice for the grocery trade any day.
Chief executive Terry Leahy and his opposite number at Sainsbury’s Justin King have lobbied hard against regulation but their greed may get the better of them.
A recent YovGov poll of shoppers found that 80 per cent were in favour of an ombudsman if it led to better treatment of farmers. Some 60 per cent were prepared to shop somewhere else to support the fairer retailers It’s funny how the big boys have selective hearing. If the customer is always right, why aren’t they listening?
For more Tesco analysis see Phil Clarke’s business blog at http://www.fwi.co.uk/blogs/agribusiness/2009/04/tesco-profits-prompt-abuse-and-admiration.html
One of the biggest challenges facing us all is learning to cope with volatile markets. It's a subject that has come up a lot in discussions in the FW office in the last week or so in meetings with Mcdonalds, Dairy UK and The Grocer magazine and website.
If farmers can survive the market peaks and troughs better than they can certainly benefit long term from the great opportunities that lurk around the corner as we come out of this recession and take advantage of global demographics.
The dairy sector is probably the best example of this. Jim Begg, Director General of Dairy UK, is worried that some in the sector are in danger of talking themselves into an early grave over pricing. As more dairy farms decide to exit, it is clear that we're in danger of losing a lot of critical mass if we are not careful. This would be a tragedy as the longer term prospects for British dairy products are very good if we can just be more resiliant through the tough times.
Jim Begg believes there is more Farmers Weekly can do to build farmer confidence in sticking with it and seeing the opportunities that lie ahead. I agree that there is a future if only dairy businesses can ride out the tough times like now. We have to report the angst that's going on about milk prices here and now but we should do it in the context of the bigger picture. Global demand for milk is on a massive trajectory but we have to find new approaches to helping producers cope with the ups and downs. All ideas welcome.
It's certainly not all doom and gloom. Global population growth and economic expansion mean that demand for dairy products will remain strong. Weaker sterling means higher single farm payments and more competitive commodity production. With low interest rates, finance is cheaper than it's ever been and input costs like fuel and power are falling. UK consumers make up one of the most developed markets for food anywhere in the world. So there's more reasons for optimism than many might think.
To help you make sense of volatile markets, look out for Phil Clarke's business blog http://www.fwi.co.uk/blogs/agribusiness/2009/04/alarm-bells-ringing-despite-buoyant-meat-prices.html
Livestock producers deserve to be confused and extremely angry. You’re being asked to pay for something over which you have no control - exotic diseases currently not originating in this country. And there’s a wealth of other measures coming in to overhaul animal health and welfare, which are a minefield to get your head around.
The NFU and other industry bodies are is rightly spitting blood over the latest DEFRA consultation on responsibility and cost sharing. It is a complex set of arrangements that aims to cut and share the cost of animal disease, improve prevention and management and build industry confidence in coping with the risks. The aims are sound, it’s the method of achieving them that is of concern.
A new independent body for animal health policy and delivery is a positive move if it enables the livestock sector to determine its own future and is truly independent. The new body could have real power if it takes over DEFRA’s funding of disease management and is run by people with a real understanding but politics needs to be taken out of the decision-making.
The idea of farmers paying an annual levy for research and surveillance of diseases, many of which are not of their making, will be hard to swallow as will the bureaucracy that comes with it. Mandatory insurance to cover unbudgeted disease costs will be even more difficult. Farmers will rail against it and as yet there’s little infrastructure to support it. Asking an insurance company to insure a business against a disease such as foot and mouth is akin to seeking buildings insurance after your home has collapsed.
These represent the most significant changes to hit the sector in years and many will be wondering whether they can survive it. There is no doubt that animal health policies need modernising. The current set up fails farmers, government and consumers because, at times, there is a serious breakdown in trust and a lack of rigour in implementation. A new strategy and vision is needed.
But why should the livestock sector foot the bill when Government is not doing enough to stop diseases coming into our borders? It cannot even guarantee safety from its own licensed laboratories as we know to our cost with the 2007 foot and mouth outbreak. The final straw continues to be its failure to tackle bovine TB effectively.
Taking responsibility is something farmers do naturally but that does not mean we get it right everyday. Biosecurity is still inadequate on many farms and a proactive approach to herd health planning is not widespread.. Remember the terrible risks taken by those who refused to participate in the bluetongue vaccination programme.
A new partnership is long overdue between Government and industry but it looks further away by the day. Forcing yet more costs on farmers that are all too frequently caused by inefficiencies by others is not a good starting point.
Let us know what you think about the changes by responding to this blog or going to www.fwi.co.uk/costsharing
Full reports from the FW team available at www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/03/30/114952/disease-cost-and-responsibility-sharing.htm
Anyone who has been around agriculture a while will remember Steven Bullock with affection. He sadly died recently but memories of his contribution to farming will be remembered for years to come.
In the days when Farmers Weekly used to manage farms, Steven Bullock was an immensely important figure. He was managing director of this business for 25 years between 1963-1988 and at one point was responsible for a group of nine farms.
Our publisher had set up these farms across the Uk and Northern France as a test bed for innovation and to demonstrate best practice in a range of locations and environments. Nowadays, we do this through our farmer focus and barometer writers, plus initiatives like the Farmers Weekly Awards. The idea was that we would report back regularly in the magazine on the activities, progress and problems on farm warts and all.
Steven's role in managing the business coincded with an era dubbed the second agricultural revolution. It was a period which experienced a rapid uptake of science based innovations which changed farming methods and increased productivity. How times have changed.
In 1988 Steven Bullock moved on to take over as Director of the Nuffield Farming Scholarships organisation. That legacy continues today as Steven and his wife Gill generously kickstarted an Award scheme for former scholars who have best applied their learning into business life. The Steven and Gillian Bullock Award began in 2007 and Farmers Weekly is happy to be involved in helping select the winners each year.
Steven had many other links with agricultural. He was a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Farmers, a member of the Royal Agricultural Society, the Farmers Club, a chairman of the Sussex Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group and the Mid Sussex Farm Management Discussion Group.
Steven lived with his wife Gillian at East Holme Farm, Maresfield, East Sussex. He is survived by Gillian, his two children and many grandchildren. He was a quiet unassuming and sincere man who played a pivotal role in British agriculture.
I'd like to thank John Stones, Director of Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust, for his help in putting this obituary together.
What's the best way of motivating a DEFRA vet? Remember these are men and women tackling some pretty tough work - Bovine TB, bluetongue, stressed farmers etc. Well, you stick them in a room together, make them play games and encourage them to find their inner self through banging drums loudly. At least that's what DEFRA seems to have done with about 130 of its staff working in animal health.
One of the vets involved rang our news editor Jonathan Riley very distressed yesterday complaining about the exercise. She was really upset and angry that what she thought would be a useful strategy day turned out to be something less serious. "We wasted an entire day playing games, mucking about and banging drums," she said. "I was appalled that taxpayers will foot the bill for this when we are actually employed to fight disesase."
The news team is trying to investigate the complaint to see what DEFRA were really trying to achieve...... if it was an effort to be motivational and build a team spirit then poor old DEFRA officials have backfired again.
It's been a frustrating couple of days in the Farmers Weekly news room. We've been waiting for weeks for the set aside consultation announcement, which was hastily made yesterday. The team has tried to work with the DEFRA communications machine to ensure we have some advance warning of the launch of the document so we can do justice to it in print as well as online. Planning ahead editorially is crucial if we are to give the right amount of pages to the right things.
The soundings from DEFRA were entirely positive to this idea. They would tip us off when it was coming and we would ensure adequate coverage was given to this crucial consultation process. Well, it won't surprise you to know that DEFRA once again failed to play ball. We don't expect them to organise their schedules around the media but we do expect them to be mindful of the most effective ways of communicating these initiatives to the farming industry. Despite all the reassurances, promises, planning and negotiation, the set aside consultation came out of the blue yesterday morning with no advance warning when we had virtually wrapped up the issue of the magazine for this week.
That's why there's only one story and leader given over to the topic in print this week, although more to come in the weeks ahead. It's moments like this that the website comes into its own. We'll be running daily stories about the consultation process on the site and healthy forum debate with farmers about the nitty gritty of the proposals.
This is a one off opportunity for farmers to influence future Government thinking and policy on the thorny issue of marrying production and environmental needs. So everyone should be encouraged to participate in giving their views on the options. If DEFRA is to be convinced that the voluntary approach is feasible, we need farmers to engage enthusiastically with the environmental debate. Otherwise we will be forced down a road of compulsory set aside at great expense to the industry.
Natural England wants 70 per cent of all eligible land to be included in future ELS, while at present only 50 per cent is covered. This is a major ask and requires those farmers already involved to renew their ELS and many more to sign up. Communication of all this is a major challenge as ELS doesn't have the best PR at the moment and future changes to it make it sound even trickier to take on not easier.
One of the key planks of any future approach will be around more targetted ELS activity. This means farmers choosing the right options for their own geographical location ie the best approaches to deliver maximum benefit for the environment depending on individual circumstances. Sir Don Curry, who chairs the Government's set aside policy group, told me yesterday that this will require more agronomists and environmental advisers, well briefed in all new ELS options, to be available to guide farmers in the right direction.
The consultation lasts 12 weeks so there is plenty of time for us all to get our heads around the issues. Our job is to make sense of all the policy speak that overloads the process. Just the title of the consultation document is enough to put anyone to sleep. It reads: Environment Standards for Farming - Consultation on proposed changes to standards on cross compliance Good Agricultural & Environment Condition (GAEC) and related measures.
What a mouthful.
Talk about making Government more accessible to the people, this is an example of where the bureaucrats pay lipservice to the words user friendly. The document is heavy going and not that accessible for farmers. It will take the NFU and others quite a while to decipher.
Let us know your views on the forums.
We’re in danger of sounding like a well worn record on bluetongue vaccinations.
But it seems the message FW, vets and others keep giving has not yet sunk in. If you have not seen the bluetongue disease in your area, do not assume you won’t.
Too many UK farmers still believe they can avoid vaccinating because they have no experience of the disease. Thousands of vaccine doses have been wasted, terrible risks taken with the national herd and vets have been left to pick up the bill.
Bluetongue has not been endemic in this country thanks to the sterling efforts to vaccinate by 80 per cent of farmers in the south east and east anglia. They built a firewall of protection that saved the day last year but it is dangerous to rely on the actions of a few when the responsibility should lie with the whole farming community..
Midges are already active in some parts of the country and we need everyone to get behind the jab campaign before turning out livestock. The threat is still there either through windborne incursion or via animals legally brought in from the Continent.
Anyone in any doubt about the risks simply has to look at the devastation in France where 20,000 holdings were hit with BTV8. Look at the map of Europe in this week's issue of the magazine and you will see that the UK fares better that most other countries on the various bluetongue strains.
This year, we should be concerned about BTV8 and the new BTV1 strain because the latter is blighting France farms and threatens to come across the channel. The cold weather is no guarantee to stopping the spread. Vets are warning that midge larvae and possibly adults could have survived the cold snap. It only takes a few days of milder weather for breeding to start with a vengeance and we’ve already seen some of that in the last couple of weeks in the south.
In protecting your farm by vaccinating, you are helping to eradicate the disease nationally. Unlike TB, bluetongue is a problem we can tackle head-on and is not a burden we are forced to live with.
Those who vaccinated their stock last year will simply need to administer a single jab again this year with the booster. Those who did not should give two doses with three weeks in between. Farmers in the south are being encouraged to vaccinate against the BTV1 strain as well.
Taking effective control now and acting collectively demonstrates real understanding of the disease. More importantly it sends a crucial signal to Government that farmers are in charge of their own destiny.
We're on a mission this year at FW to improve our market prices and trends information because farmers keep telling us it's critical stuff. There's work going on behind the scenes to find out exactly the best way of doing this online and in print. This includes spending quite a lot of money on reader/user research... you can never do enough talking and listening to the customer... even if it does cost a fortune.
One of the key things to emerge from research is farmers wanting more interpretation of what's happening in the markets and what it all means for the farm business. So we've taken a leaf out of the BBC's book and tried to emulate the Beeb's popular business editor Robert Peston and his blog with regular updates from the FW equivalent our Global Markets and Economics Editor Philip Clarke.
Phil has started his own blog and he aims to provide analysis, interpretation and commentaries so the business information that's available is made more relevant and understandable to UK farmers. ,
You can chip in with your own thoughts on what's happening by responding to Phil's blog and it would be great to give him some feedback as to the usefulness of what he's doing. This is unchartered water for us at fwi and it would be good to get some encouragement and constructive feedback to spur us on. What areas of business would you like Phil to cover? What's got you baffled or confused? Let's see if we can cut through the minefield of bureaucrat and banking speak and make some sense of it for you.
It's beautiful down here in sussex with snow laden South Downs and a picture opportunity around every corner. But it's havoc on the roads and schools are closed. The south east is gridlock so most of the FW team has not been able to make it in to the office in Sutton, Surrey today,
We're managing to get the news to you and pictures by working remotely. There's a good selection of snow pictures already at http://www.fwi.co.uk/community/photos/februarysnow/default.aspx Share your stories about the weather and pictures at fwi.space.co.uk. The best pix may make it into the magazine too.
It looks as if London could be worse than other parts of the south east. My daughter tells me it's at least seven inches deep outside her door and the wheels of some parked cars can hardly be seen under the snow drifts.
The weather service on our site is not right at the moment but there are people working behind the scenes right now to try to fix it so bear with us. The big challenge comes tomorrow, particularly if the weather is still this bad and we struggle to make up pages for the magazine going to press on Wednesday. Fingers crossed the snows ease off tomorrow.
If we were to collect all the farmer knowledge and experience about bovine TB together, the result would probably be a pretty heavyweight and useful book. That's why I'm keen to encourage farmers to participate in a bit of research.
There's an important study going on by academics at... it's a bit of a mouthful...... http://www.veeru.reading.ac.uk/ They've been commissioned by DEFRA to compile a history of bovine TB in England since 1980. The idea being that such information will serve as a framework to interpret analytical studies on the disease.
Farmers, vets, agricultural advisers and auctioneers are needed to help pull the information together because the researchers want to hear from people who have been directly involved with Bovine TB. They are looking for experience-based knowledge that may contribute to a better understanding of the outbreak and possible risk factors.
To kick-start their work, they've launched a confidential consultation process in the form of a short on-line tick box questionnaire. It's vital that as many people as possible with direct experience of the disease take part so please have a look at the survey and add your pennyworth..... You never know, it could make a difference to long term decisions about the management of this terrible disease.
I've received an interesting letter today from Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB - the only remaining British manufacturer of tractors. It is the same letter he has sent the Financial Times and DEFRA and its calling for Government to announce clear actions to support British farmers and help them boost production.
Sir Anthony is currently in South America on business otherwise I would have liked to have developed this further with him today. But we will certainly be running this story on the website and in the magazine coming out Friday.
His gripe is that since Labour came to power in 1997, Britain's food self sufficiency has reduced to 60% and, in his words, "DEFRA remain indifferent" about it. The JCB chief is worried about billions of unnecessary food miles being clocked up as we import indigenous foods such as potatoes, apples and sugar, causing congestion, road infrastructure costs, pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
He complains the strong support that used to exist for farming has shifted to a focus on rural affairs. Yet the agri food sector accounts for 6.9% of the total economy and provides 3.6 million jobs which, incidentally is more than four times as many as the UK car industry. According to Sir Anthony, the agri sector could generate even more revenue and jobs if DEFRA did its job.
The letter finishes with the following:
"British farmers are some of the most productive in the world - Mr Benn should immediately announce clear actions that support them in boosting production, and make 100% indigenous food self sufficiency a priority."
Don't know about you, but I was pretty impressed that the chairman of a business so troubled by the current economic downturn in the construction market should take the time to back Britain's farmers. But then why should I be that surprised? It turns out Sir Anthony is also a farmer himself..................
It's been months in the making, but it's here. We've had a few days of delivering a new look home page for our website www.fwi.co.uk and, fingers crossed, it seems to be working ok. That means over the next few weeks we will be rolling out further changes to improve our overall service to you online.
Our aim is to make online information more accessible to farmers by taking advantage of some amazing new advances in web technology. Our old site was popular but not always the easiest to navigate. So we consulted farmers through extensive research and have made adjustments to the proposed new design based on your ideas, advice and needs.
We think the result is a livelier, faster changing, more interative website that's able to keep pace with the changes going on in the industry. Feedback so far has been very positive but it's pretty early days as only the home page is different. You should see more sections changing design shortly and there will be an accompanying video explaining step by step how you can best use the site.
The FW editorial, sales and marketing teams have got some exciting things planned for the site this year so watch this space.
As always, we are eager to hear what web users think. Your feedback is essential.So let us know by replying to this blog or write to the online editor Julian Gairdner on his blog at www.fwi.co.uk/community/blogs/juliansblog/archive/2009/01/07-new-look-fwi-home-page.aspx.
Could the New Year be ushering in a fresh, more confident and conciliatory mood from Government?
This week, 500 rather stunned folk attending the Oxford Farming Conference actually heard the Secretary of State Hilary Benn say:
“The future of the world will literally depend on farming”. http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/01/07/113715/oxford-conference-landowners-welcome-ministers-change-of-heart.html
Overall, it was a rather tame speech but sprinkled within it were a few glimpses of a more positive, supportive tone and a definite attempt at reasonableness. Benn reminded us that the best way for the UK to ensure food security will be through strong, productive and sustainable agriculture and trading freely with other nations.
He wants British farmers to produce as much food as possible providing it is what consumers want and is grown in way which safeguards the landscape and environment. Few could argue with that. He accepts that encouraging production must go hand in hand with protecting the environment and reconnecting with consumers. But where does the balance lie?
Contrary to reports, we learned that Benn does “not want to reintroduce set aside” but does want to explore small percentages of land to be farmed in an environmentally friendly way while still allowing production. This careful choice of words is noted but it is still not clear what he actually means. The devil will be in the detail, although we have been promised that there will be “a sensible outcome that commands widespread farmer support with rules and incentives that you can understand and implement”. Let’s hope this is a genuine effort towards lighter touch regulation although there will be many mistrustful of the language used.
And Benn has acknowledged the inadequacies of some decisions taken in Brussels. He’s on side with opposing the soils directive in its current form and he’s still fighting with us on the disastrous pesticide proposals. He concedes that EID for sheep might have been a good idea at the time but the costs now outweigh the benefits. On GM, he is keen on trials and wants to move the debate away from theory. There is even a pledge to push Europe on clearer country of origin labelling to stop shopper confusion over where an animal was born, reared and slaughtered. Anaerobic digestion rules will also be adjusted so that manures and slurries will no longer be viewed as waste when used as fertiliser.
Suddenly it feels like someone in DEFRA listened. When the facts changed, Benn said he was prepared to change too. Let’s judge the Secretary of State on his actions not his words. His message was upbeat, clear and encouraging. It was a fair opener to what will no doubt be a tough year. As the Oxford Farming Conference highlighted, there is plenty of optimism about. Exploiting opportunities can deliver great growth but volatility continues apace in 2009 so managing risk must be everyone’s number one mantra.
Well, the rest was great while it lasted. Although it seems many of you didn't have much time off during the Christmas holiday. The FW poll completed by over 2000 users of our website asked how many days off you had during the festive period. Almost 1000 users, as of today, claimed to have had not a single day. Although 18% (372) ticked the "more than 7 days" category. Whatever break you managed to achieve, we hope it was enjoyable with the family.
For many, Christmas and the start of a new year is a special time to reflect on what's just gone and what's about to happen in the next 12 months. Some of the FW team will be off to Oxford tomorrow for the start of the Oxford Farming Conference to do just that - a spot of looking ahead.
As one of the OFC directors, I'm hoping that the programme we've put together for this year's event is inspiring and practical for the 500 delegates attending. The Oxford conference is always the most strategic event in the farming calendar with international speakers, the secretary of state and a lot of debating and networking. Sometimes we come in for a bit of criticism because the programme and event is not seen as relevant enough for farmers. Well, we have several audiences for this one - farmers, policy makers, consultants and advisers to the industry, suppliers and young people starting out in agriculture. It's hard to please everyone.
This year, we've tried to split the two days up into several themes to try to appeal to as broad an audience as possible. The themes include: the politics of farming; market forces at work; how to profit from consumer choice and improving communications and image.
Oxford wouldn't be Oxford without a bit of theatre. Michael Heseltine is the post-dinner speaker tomorrow night and, by popular demand, the Oxford Union Debate returns on Tuesday night. HRH Princess Anne is scheduled to meet Oxford scholars on Wednesday. So plenty for us to get our teeth into. Look out for live reports, pictures and maybe some video on www.fwi.co.uk from Tuesday morning onwards.
If you're going along to the event, let's try to meet and chat and let us know what you make of it. If you're not attending, why not let us know what you think of it anyway at www.fwispace.co.uk?
Happy New Year
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