Ground-breaking farm sets environmental standards
Ground-breaking farm sets environmental standards
Borders farming business
MAMCO is the first
agricultural business in the
world to secure EN ISO
14001, the international
standard for environmental
management. Alan Wright
visited managing director
Doug Niven to find out
whats involved
INTERNATIONAL standard ISO 14001 demands an environmental management system to be implemented and followed with a programme of continual improvement.
The first farm business in the world to be awarded that standard is Borders farming business and ICM advocate MAMCO. Managing director Doug Niven believes the standard brings marketing advantages, tightens management, and should override some other farm protocols such as Scottish Quality Cereals or the Assured Combinable Crops Scheme.
"All these audits cost time and money and are not necessary if you are working to a higher standard," he says.
MAMCO manages 2600ha 6400 acres) of land in Berwickshire including Mr Nivens own family farm at Whitsome Hill. Environmental management is an integral part of his farming philosophy but he admits that the starting point is improving farm efficiency.
"Integrated crop management is about making the best use of resources. Nothing illustrates the potential for savings more than precision farming with its yield maps and, more importantly, gross margin maps for every field.
"When the message that a particular part of a field is making a loss is repeated year after year, it becomes clear that the area should be set aside or used for another purpose like woodland or wetland," he says.
Through LEAF, FWAG, and the Countryside Premium Scheme, he was introducing beetle banks, unsprayed headlands, wide hedges and other environmental improvements already. "The natural progression was to seek the international standard for environmental management."
Two years and a lot of consultancy were needed to gain ISO 14001. The detail is bewildering, with codes and objectives to cover everything from efficiency of tractor fuel pumps to the disposal of plastic and other farm wastes, he says.
"The follow up audits are very much a hands-on affair. The inspector talks the thing through in the office but will then ask to go out on farm and take a closer look at any area or set of records to make sure we are matching our targets. Not everything is expected at once – but there has to be a programme of continual improvement," says Mr Niven.
Marketing is one of the main gains. Thanks to the standard, MAMCO has won a contract from one of the big supermarket chains to supply organic potatoes, turnips, barley, and wheat. Malting barley is expected to sell better too.
"Many international brewers work to ISO 14001 and they will demand that same standard from their suppliers. Farmers must accept that future markets will depend on reaching certain quality standards," he says. "There is also a positive public relations angle for our company in leading the field on environmental standards."
A downside to the standard is sourcing inputs such as seed and fertiliser, as companies which have reached the same international standard must be used. "It limits our choice. But we finish up with a product like malting barley which has full assurance and traceability from seed to malt," he adds.
"I would not say this standard should be the aim of every farmer but I believe we are helping agriculture. Unless we begin to show that we are taking appropriate action, we will have tougher and tougher environmental standards forced on us by legislation."
MAMCO ISO 14001
• Farm efficiency ultimate goal.
• Better markets achieved.
• First farm with International Environmental Award.
• One cover-all audit standard?