Strategies for success – contrasting approaches to organic dairy farming

This report was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference. Financial and some physical aspects of ten commercial dairy farms with different management approaches and at different stages of organic conversion were monitored, alongside two herds at a research farm. One herd at the research farm was managed to maximize profit, the other aimed for self-sufficiency to maximize sustainability. Dairy enterprise gross margins per forage hectare varied from £824 to £1,851/ha and overhead costs ranged from £606 to £1,022/ha on the commercial farms, illustrating the necessity for control of overhead costs as well as enterprise performance in achieving profitability on organic farms

A critique of methodologies for the comparison of organic and conventional farming systems

This paper was presented at the UK Organic Research 2002 Conference of the Colloquium of Organic Researchers (COR). A review is presented of comparative studies of organic and conventional farming systems, with a special focus upon economic criteria. The different categories of comparison methodologies are critically reviewed. Conclusions are that classic experimentation has a valuable part to play but that more qualitative assessment can also be useful and should be encouraged. Careful allowance should be made for major background differences in management when comparing financial profitability. Longer term case studies, which try to monitor organic systems in their own right, should also be encouraged

Poor Philanthropist II: New approaches to sustainable development

The second title in the Poor Philanthropist Series, this monograph represents the culmination of a six-year journey; a journey characterised in the first three years by in-depth qualitative research which resulted in an understanding of philanthropic traditions among people who are poor in southern Africa and gave rise to new and innovative concepts which formed the focus of the research monograph The Poor Philanthropist: How and Why the Poor Help Each Other, published by the Southern Africa-United States Centre for Leadership and Public Values in 2005

Comparison of the physical and financial performance of organic dairy farming systems (OF0146)

This is the final report from Defra project OF0146 Two different systems of organic milk production were studied during the 1998-2002 period. The systems were established at the IGER Ty Gwyn organic dairy farm during the 1998/99 period. The systems were based either on achieving self-sufficiency in both home-grown forage and concentrate feeds or on the production of home-grown forage and the purchase of concentrate feeds. The data collected included recording the changes in the soil indices, level of crop production, crop quality, level of milk production, milk quality, animal health and herd reproductive performance of the two systems. The main attached report starts with a detailed executive summary. In the modelling work fifty-four different strategies for organic dairy production were evaluated. Performance data from three commercial organic dairy farms with different climatic conditions (Devon, Pembrokeshire and Shropshire) and cropping strategies (arable with all home-grown feed, home-grown forage only, home-grown forage + purchased concentrates) and also data from the two Ty Gwyn systems was inputted into three models (SAC Dairy Systems, SAC FeedByte, IRS OrgPlan) to evaluate the potential performance from different organic systems. The results produced a range of different options and rankings in relation to their potential financial performance and use of resources. The results from the data modelling predicted the best financial performance and utilisation of resources would be achieved by the establishment of an arable system on the Pembrokeshire farm. The lowest financial performance was predicted to be from the establishment of purchased concentrate systems on the Shropshire and Pembrokeshire farms, with the poorest utilisation of resource use indicators from both the establishment of a forage-only system on the Shropshire farm and purchased feed systems on both the Shropshire and Pembrokeshire farms. In relation to financial indicators the modelling work showed little difference between the two Ty Gwyn systems. The financial performance of Ty Gwyn was compared with ten commercial organic dairy farms, monitored during the 1998-2002 period. Of the ten commercial farms, four had been organic for a number of years, three were recently converted and three were in conversion. The net farm income of the Ty Gwyn SS system increased from 1998/99 to 1999/00 to a peak of £25,453 but then declined sharply following a fall in the price paid for organic milk to a loss of -£14,269 in 2001/02. In the Ty Gwyn PC system the net farm income increased to £24,122 in 2000/01 but then fell sharply to a loss of -£4,825 in 2001/02. The peak net farm incomes on the commercial farms were recorded in the 1999/00 period, with either a small loss (<-£50/ha) recorded on the well established farms or a small profit (<£50/ha) on the recently converted farms in 2001/02

Economics of organic farming: economic modelling OF0125

This report represents results from research work carried out for the MInistry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) on the financial performance over the years 1995/96 to 1997/98. The work was initially funded under the code OF0125 and was extended into Project OF0190, with this reported representing both satges of the project. The aim of the research was to assess the financial performance of organic farms differentiated by farm type, in order to inform MAFF policy-making with respect to organic farming, and to provide a basis for assessents by farmers, advisers and other interested parties of the farm-level implications of conversation to, and continued organic farming. The specific objectives were the provision of information on different organic farm types. This was achieved through the collation of financial data collected under three different MAFF-funded research projects supplemented by data collected on other farm types, including data on dairy farms in the process of converting to organic production. Organic farm data is presented for LFA cattle and sheep farms for 1997/8 only. The samples of organic farms are small because of the limited number of organic holdings over 8 European Size Units with identifiable holding numbers in 1996 and farms with more than 50% of their land under organic management in 1997/98. Although the organic sample is small, it represents nearly 14% of organic farms with identifiable holding numbers registered with UKROPFS in 1996, and this work gives an indication of the relative profitability of diferent organic and conventional farms of different types in the late 1990s. Detailed financial input, output, income, liabilities and assets and some physical performance measures are presented for each of the years studied. Outputs on organic dairy, horticulture and mixed farms increased each year. Outputs on organic lowland cattle and sheep farms were stable, but increasing inputs reduced Net Farm Income (NFI) each year in the study period. Outputs from organic cropping farms increased in 1996/97 and decreased in 1997/98, but results rom this group are affected by the high levels of conventional cropping (25% of land area on average) and reduced conventional prices. To provide an indication of the likely performance of the organic farms if they were under conventional production, data from conventional farms are given. Conventional farms wereselected by cluster analysis from the Farm Business Survey (FBS). In 1997/98 the average NFI (pounds sterling/farm) of the organic farms exceeded that of the conventional farms for all farm types except cattle and sheep farms

Organic farm incomes in England and Wales 1995/96 - 1997/98

This report is associated with the less detailed final report of Defra project OF0190, on the same theme, archived at https://orgprints.org/6606 This report presents results from research work carried out for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) on the financial performance of organic farms over the years 1995/96 to 1997/98. The aim of the research was to assess the financial performance of organic farms differentiated by farm type, in order to inform MAFF policy-making with respect to organic farming, and to provide a basis for assessments by farmers, advisers and other interested parties of the farm-level implications of conversion to, and continued organic farming. The specific objectives were the provision of information on different organic farm types. This was achieved through the collation of financial data collected under three different MAFF-funded research projects supplemented by data collected on other farm types, including data on dairy farms in the process of converting to organic production. Organic farm data is presented for LFA cattle and sheep farms for 1997/98 only. The samples of organic farms are small because of the limited number of organic holdings over 8 European Size Units with identifiable holding numbers in 1996 and farms with more than 50% of their land under organic management in 1997/98. Although the organic sample is small, it represents nearly 14% of organic farms with identifiable holding numbers registered with UKROFS in 1996, and this work gives an indication of the relative profitability of different organic and conventional farms of different types in the late 1990s. Detailed financial input, output, income, liabilities and assets and some physical performance measures are presented for each of the years studied. Outputs on organic dairy, horticulture and mixed farms increased each year. Outputs on organic lowland cattle and sheep farms were stable, but increasing inputs reduced Net Farm Income (NFI) each year in the study period. Outputs from organic cropping farms increased in 1996/97 and decreased in 1997/98, but results from this group are affected by the high levels of conventional cropping (25% of land area on average) and reduced conventional prices. To provide an indication of the likely performance of the organic farms if they were under conventional production, data from conventional farms are given. Conventional farms were selected by cluster analysis from the Farm Business Survey (FBS) (MAFF, 1999)1. In 1997/98 the average NFI (£/farm) of the organic farms exceeded that of the conventional farms for all farm types except cattle and sheep farms

Environmental and biodiversity impacts of organic farming in the hills and uplands of Wales

1. Organic farming is based on principles of co-existence with natural systems, the minimisation of pollution and damage to the environment, and the promotion of the health of soil, plant and animal to produce healthy food with high standards of animal welfare and respect for the wider social and ecological impacts of the agricultural system. 2. Organic Farming has become an important aspect of EU agri-environment policy. Since the implementation of EC Reg. 2078/92 the EU promotes organic farming explicitly on its positive effects on the environment. 3. The environmental and biodiversity benefits of organic systems in the lowlands for mixed farming is generally accepted (Shepherd, 2003) but similar benefits for upland systems have not been identified. This report has been produced by OCW with funding from CCW to address this gap. Where relevant, means to ensure the beneficial impacts through changes to agri-environment schemes, organic standards, and education and dissemination are identified. 4. Hill and uplands are characterised as areas over 200m above sea level where the physical landscape results in production constraints. 5. Biodiversity losses linked to changes in hill and upland agriculture include the erosion of genetic diversity in farmed livestock and crops as well as in wildlife and flora, a reduction in habitat, soil and wildlife diversity and the loss of local knowledge and farming culture. 6. The organic approach to sustainable agriculture in hill or upland systems is through the use of multi species swards and mixed stocking. 7. The report identifies potential points of difference between organic and conventional management practices with regard to hill and upland farming and highlights research requirements to confirm or explore those potentials. 8. Conventional farms can adopt any or all of the practices of the organic farming system, but the engagement with the entire system and annual inspections are specific to the organic farmer. 9. The impacts are not just determined by the system of organic regulations and but also by the management ability and technical skills of the farmer and workers. 10. The practices on organic livestock farms identified that may differ from conventional and have direct biodiversity or environmental impacts are: lower stocking rates (overall manure loading maximum of 170kg/N/ha/yr); an adjustment of the stocking balance (increasing ratio of cattle to sheep); keeping indigenous breeds and strains adapted to the environmental conditions on the farm; limitation on products to control external parasites; reduction and restriction on the use of prophylactic veterinary medicines; the use of foragebased diets; storage and use of slurries, manures and composts, and constraints on the import and export of nutrients. 11. Organic practices in management of grassland and crops identified that may differ from conventional and have direct biodiversity or environmental impacts are: cessation of N fertiliser use; restriction on P & K use; use of lime to maintain pH; use of clovers and herbs in grass leys; cessation of use of chemical pesticides and all herbicides; mechanical and manual weed control and sensitive and timely cultivations; the use of mixed farm systems and rotations on in-bye land; the use of cover crops and undersowing; the use of green manures. 12. Organic regulations do not require habitat creation, but standards state, “that concern for the environment should manifest”…“in high standards of conservation management throughout the organic holding”. Discussion 13. Apart from practices that impact directly on biodiversity or the environment, each management decision on the farm will have knock-on effects that have their own consequences, for example welfare standards for livestock require bedding materials and greater housing space. 14. Organic farms operating solely in the hills and uplands can only be part of a system. Use of in-bye land or having a relationship with lowland holdings to provide winter-feed and forage is necessary to comply with regulations. This will increase the amount of lowland managed organically, bringing widely recognised environmental benefits. 15. Organic agriculture is, by legal definition, a system of production and is based on principles and uses practices adopted to optimise the health of the system. Any farmer may adopt individual practices, and the Tir Gofal scheme provides an opportunity for farmers to provide positive conservation measures, whether conventional or organic. Farming under the EU Regulation defining Organic farming provides assurance to the end consumer that the system used to produce or process the food product was according to that system. This provides a reliable means for consumers to support a system of agriculture that fits more closely with their expectations than intensive systems. 16. Any advantages of lower stocking rates and mixed stocking will only be maintained while organic farms are viable. Organic labelling provides an opportunity for consumers to make a positive choice for high welfare, environmentally benign systems; however the difficulties of marketing, the lack of consumer awareness of food production issues and unwillingness to pay are barriers to access to premium markets for many producers. Conclusions: 17. The potential benefits of individual practices outlined in the document are often clear, but there are currently few data to confirm the extent of some of the practices that may have most beneficial impact. The need for data on actual practices of the organic farmers in the hills and uplands is therefore highlighted. 18. Few Standards changes are recommended, however the monitoring of derogations to standards and use of restricted veterinary inputs is recommended. 19. Research and development needs, technical, education and dissemination, and agri-environment policy issues which may establish, ensure, or enhance the environmental and biodiversity impacts of organic farming in the hills and uplands are outlined. 20. Infrastructure work to integrate hill and upland and lowland systems is necessary to facilitate organic farming in the uplands; this may assist the viability of lowland organic holdings: the environmental benefits of which are established

Examining the relationship between leaders' power use, followers' motivational outlooks, and followers' work intentions

From the foundation of self-determination theory and existing literature on forms of power, we empirically explored relationships between followers' perceptions of their leader's use of various forms of power, followers' self-reported motivational outlooks, and followers' favorable work intentions. Using survey data collected from two studies of working professionals, we apply path analysis and hierarchical multiple regression to analyze variance among constructs of interest. We found that followers' perceptions of hard power use by their leaders (i.e., reward, coercive, and legitimate power) was often related to higher levels of sub-optimal motivation in followers (i.e., amotivation, external regulation, and introjected regulation). However, followers who perceived their leaders used soft power (i.e., expert, referent, and informational power) often experienced higher levels of optimal motivation (i.e., identified regulation and intrinsic motivation), but further investigation of soft power use is warranted. The quality of followers' motivational outlooks was also related to intentions to perform favorably for their organizations.Published versio