Diversification and marketing key to survival
Diversification and marketing key to survival
TIM and Margaret Johns are typical of the larger scale family farmers the Welsh farm unions are trying to keep in business.
Their 130 dairy cows and 28.3ha (70 acres) of arable crops in Pembrokeshire are struggling to sustain the business. As they plot their strategy for survival, they are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of diversification, co-operation and marketing.
Their 101ha (249 acre) unit Pencnwc, Castle Morris, is bigger than the average Welsh lowland farm. But they still feel threatened by rising input costs and tumbling farmgate prices.
As chairman of the county NFU branch, Mr Johns regularly comes into contact with other producers who feel similarly besieged. "Whether we are producing milk, beef and sheep or cereals, we are all talking about survival," he said.
"Politicians go on about sustainable farming, but the emphasis must be on economic rather than ecological sustainability."
The National Assembly of Wales has placed organic farming on a pedestal when it is the 97% of "conventional" farmers who feed the nation and take care of most of the countryside, he pointed out.
Mr Johns, a third generation, reasonably efficient farmer, is struggling to make enough money to live, and reinvest properly in the business. The year-round calving herd averages over 6000 litre/head, of which 4000 litres comes from forage. The cost of concentrate rations is kept down by home-mixing using wheat and barley grown on the farm.
He has tried to peg investment in machinery and labour costs by using the Pembrokeshire Machinery Ring and contractors. But soaring fertiliser, agri-chemical and fuel prices have wiped out any savings.
Even after the recent rise in the milk price, the dairy enterprise cannot generate an acceptable return on capital. While Mr Johns hopes for a better deal from the government, he acknowledges that farmers must help themselves by co-operating more and getting involved in downstream marketing.
At Pencnwc, self-help includes diversification into a retail enterprise based on Mrs Johns keen interest in everything equestrian. Run from a redundant stone farm building, the business initially only handled horse feed, but now markets a range of products including tack and clothing. They have also diversified into pet foods.
"To give our three children the chance of farming I believe we have to be prepared to try anything to survive until conditions improve," said Mr Johns. *