Contribution of integrated farm management (IFM) to Defra objectives

A farming system comprises a complex of interrelated and interacting factors. Any study of an isolated part of the system will not provide adequate understanding of the behaviour of the entire system and interactions may be equally or more important than individual components. There is therefore a requirement for the development of integrated approaches and practices to help farming systems adapt to, eliminate or reduce the negative impacts of production on the environment. This must be achieved whilst maintaining the economic viability of the farm enterprise. Our analysis has confirmed that IFM techniques generally have far more beneficial than adverse effects on current Defra policy objectives. However, there are some notable ‘conflicts’ where a technique that has a large beneficial effect in one policy area has a large negative effect in another. Carbon footprinting is used to quantify the impact of some integrated farming practices

B637: Reducing the Frequency of Home Delivery of Milk

Home delivery of milk is faced with rising costs and price competition from stores. To remain in business the retail route operator must sell more product per customer or provide a minimum amount of service for customers. This report is concerned with the feasibility of providing a minimum amount of service through reducing the frequency of delivery on home delivery routes. Information on experience with and attitudes toward reduced delivery was obtained by personal and mail interviews from distributors in the northeast and from households in Kentucky, Maine and West Virginia during the period 1960 to 1963.This study is a contribution to the northeast regional dairy marketing research project NEM-25, Adapting Milk Distribution Systems and Practices to Changing Conditions, involving agricultural experiment stations in the northeast region and supported in part by regional funds.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1061/thumbnail.jp