Barriers Facing New Entrants to Farming – an Emphasis on Policy

Recent UK studies highlight some of the challenges of adjustment facing the farming industry; an ageing farming population, a common absence of successor, and economic barriers combining to deter new entrants to the industry. Yet the future of farming is dependent on continued entry by new farm operators, either through the family farm business, new entrants from other sectors or via the ‘agricultural ladder’ i.e. from a farm worker to tenant to owner operator. Evidence suggests that new entrants in each situation encounter difficulties, some generic and some specific to individual cases. What is unclear is the role and influence of a range of policies on new entrant decisions. At a time when the farming industry is under pressure to compete and adjustment becomes increasingly urgent, the influential (direct or indirect) role of policy becomes more pertinent. This paper will review the current entry/exit situation in Scotland and, drawing upon recent research, highlight the main barriers affecting new entrants. The role and influence of various policies on new entrant decisions will be discussed. The paper concludes with a debate as to whether the issues raised warrant further intervention.Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management,

PROFITABILITY OF VARIABLE RATE PHOSPHORUS IN A TWO CROP ROTATION

In the Midwest, the adoption of precision farming technologies began in the early 1990s. Research has produced profiles of early adopters, evaluated adoption trends and has identified factors that influence the adoption and profitability of precision farming. Importantly, this information is available to producers, who are interested in precision farming issues. In addition, the Midwest regional agricultural industry, strong promoters of precision farming technologies, has gained the confidence of farmers who now rely on them heavily for information on farming technologies. Precision farming in Arkansas, however, is still in its infancy. Adoption levels lag far behind those in the Midwest. Two reasons for this lag have been offered. First, some suggest that much of what is believed about the technologies in the state is based on hearsay or the results of small single farm case study analyses. Because these beliefs have not been rigorously substantiated with extensive empirical evidence it has not been possible to truly assess the status of adoption, to predict potential adoption trends, or to adequately advise farmers in a decision to include precision farming in their farm management plan. Second, others suggest that agricultural industry has not taken an active role in the promotion and sale of precision farming equipment and services. Without local availability, all the research in the world will not lead to adoption of technology in the state. The objective of this paper is to provide critical information to Arkansas agricultural producers, industry and extension with answers regarding 1) the current status of precision farming 2) the amount, source and effectiveness of precision farming promotion and 3) the potential future of precision farming in Arkansas. In the Spring of 1999, three groups, early adopters of precision farming technologies (EA), Cooperative Extension Service personnel (CES) and agricultural industry personnel (AI), were surveyed to ascertain the realities and perceptions of precision farming in Arkansas. The surveys included questions related to characteristics of early adopters, factors encouraging and hindering adoption, and the roles of CES and AI in the promotion of precision farming within Arkansas. The survey response rate was over 60 percent. To build profiles of Arkansas EA to compare responses regarding sources of precision farming information across all three groups three statistical tools were used to test hypotheses regarding factors which influence adoption. The surveys revealed that Arkansas EA are young, educated, computer using, experienced farmers controlling relatively large farms predominantly devoted to rice and soybean. These farmers currently employ yield and soil mapping, as well as VRT and GIS technologies in their operations. While many reasons (such as decreased costs, improved yields, and improved management capabilities) have been cited as factors that can encourage adoption, there are still any number of reasons why many Arkansas farmers have not yet adopted these technologies, including, technical difficulties, expense and unproven profitability. In addition, AI representatives see themselves as promoters of precision farming technologies in Arkansas while EA have cited instances of a lack of available equipment and also stated that they turn to CES rather than AI for farming information because they believe this is an unbiased source of information. The authors conclude that both reasons offered for the lag in adoption are likely and hope that these insights provide both the CES and AI representatives with information to help them focus their research and outreach activities so that more Arkansas producers can make informed decisions about precision farming.Crop Production/Industries,

Natural Resource Industries, ‘Tragedy of the Commons’ and the Case of Chilean Salmon Farming

Chilean salmon farming has been considered as an outstanding example of success after growing at double digit rates for more than twenty years. While the expansion was indeed dramatic, it came at the expense of severe sanitary and environmental deterioration. The outbreak in 2008 of the infectious salmon anaemia, a viral disease that kills salmon, but does not affect humans, has made this utterly clear. The overexploitation of the ‘commons’ upon which the industry has grown and the lack of an adequate regulatory mechanism to monitor adverse environmental effects contributed to this disaster, which now threatens the future of the industry and the country benefiting from its natural comparative advantage for salmon farming. The paper shows that activities based on the exploitation of a common pool resource require quite a different analytical approach than the one conventional neoclassical theory offers us for the understanding of firm and industry behaviour. This study shows that industries of this sort enjoy unique location-specific conditions requiring specific know how, R&D, and strong public-private cooperation in order to attain environmentally sustainable long term growth.- Chilean salmon farming, common pool resources, natural resource based industry, ‘tragedy of the commons’

What future the cane industry: is training a vehicle for change?

This paper summarised research into the training needs of cane growers in Queensland and Northern New South Wales for the Sugar Research and Development Corporation (SRDC). The full report supplied comprehensive insights into industry training needs from the perspective of those most directly involved in the production side. As a result of historically low price returns and in some areas, lingering effects of lower than average rainfall, many cane growers are faced with difficult prospects: exiting the industry, seeking to augment incomes by off-farm employment, or diversifying their farming operations. Prior research has shown that farmers undertaking training in other farm business sectors have markedly higher gross operating surpluses when compared with those who did not train. Findings from this research revealed a significant unrecognised demand for competency-based training and a need for adoption strategies to be developed and championed at a whole of industry level. By adopting lessons learnt from other industry re-structures, cane growers can maintain their viability from high-level business management training which is not currently offered. The industry is challenged by a need to engage multiple stakeholders and to develop client designed training programs to enable them to remedy farming-related problems

Generating Governance Capacity in Infant Industries: The Development of Organic Farming in Denmark and Australia

Organic farming is of increasing interest to policy makers as it has been linked to environmental, rural development and market related outcomes which have high political salience. As such, attention naturally turns to catalysing organic growth. Patterns of growth vary considerably among countries, but existing explanations of variation lack authority. This paper compares the development of organic farming sectors in Australia and Denmark, countries at polar ends of the organic sector development continuum. They provide a good comparison as both countries share key characteristics, such as a history of state-agricultural industry partnerships, an implicit post-1980’s consensus around a market model for agricultural industry development, and the general absence of consumer distrust over food quality. After ruling out a number of well worn explanations for differential growth we focus on the role of governance capacity. We argue that the Danish case, in contrast with Australia, demonstrates that when well-developed associative and state capacities can combine alongside interest intermediation then governance capacity is generated and infant industry development is made possible

Potential economic impacts of providing for Aquaculture Management Areas in Canterbury

This research estimates the commercial costs and benefits associated with selected aquaculture projects in the Canterbury region. Mussel farming employment will most likely be generated in coastal communities that at present have few employment opportunities. These communities are likely to profit as well from increased infrastructure needs for the marine farming enterprise. Any development in the marine farming industry will take many years to reach full potential. This means that the costs and benefits from increased marine farming activities will be staggered over a number of years. It is acknowledged that the gains might be achieved at different locations than the losses occur. The effects on other stakeholders are often uncertain.Mussel farming, economic impact, scenarios, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Land Economics/Use,

Cheese Makers are Always Women: Gendered Representations of Farm Life in the Agricultural Press

Drawing upon the 'Farmlife' pages of Farmer's Weekly, the most significant farming publication in the UK, this paper assesses the ways in which gender identities in farming are represented by its text and images. Lead articles from 1976 and 1996 issues of Farmlife are taken as the research focus to determine how representations have altered in line with restructuring of the agricultural industry. Reference is made to Connell's (1987) notions of hegemonic masculinity and emphasised femininity to inform the analysis about the ways in which these gender identities are (re)produced through the British farming media. A simple typology is derived from the articles which assists in revealing a remarkable degree of consistency in the portrayal of gender identities over time. The findings augment evidence from international research suggesting that dominant gender identities within agriculture are being perpetuated through the farming media. The implications of this are highlighted and suggestions made for research with the consumers of these media products

Farming Intensification and Environmental Justice in Northern Ireland

Going for Growth, an industry-led strategy to expand the agri-food sector, was adopted by the Northern Irish government in 2013 in order to encourage farming intensification in Northern Ireland. This approach, however, threatens an already fragile natural environment and has already had detrimental consequences for human health and well-being. This article employs an environmental justice perspective to scrutinize farming intensification in a community affected by this phenomenon. Based on findings from semi-structured interviews with local residents, the article describes their exposure to environmental risks as a result of farming intensification. The uneven distribution of environmental burdens is also coupled with limited opportunities for the local residents to engage in environmental decision-making and to be recognized as active agents of change. The article concludes that farming intensification in Northern Ireland is marked by procedural environmental injustice and should be addressed by downscaling levels of production and reforming decision-making processes

Problems and Prospects of Shrimp Farming in Bangladesh

Shrimp is one of the leading exportable products in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is earning about 500 millions of foreign currency yearly by exporting shrimp and contributing 3.78% in GDP. This study intends to find out the problems related to the shrimp industry in Bangladesh to export in the international markets. As such a research study has been undertaken on shrimp farmers, experts and government employees of the shrimp farming areas. To gauge the prospects of shrimp farming, the south-western region of Bangladesh has been considered as the core farming areas. These three categories of stakeholders are related to the problems and prospects of shrimp industry in Bangladesh. A total of 100 stakeholders were selected to respond. The author suggested that problems including high mortality rate, lack of virus screening facility and the unfair practices should be taken into account for the both operative and strategic level without delay. Enforcement of food security from the external sector of the government ought to be discovered.

Issues and Research Needs of the Australian Organic Food Products Market

Worldwide, the demand for organic food products has expanded rapidly in the past decade, stimulated by consumer perceptions that organic products are safer, cleaner and more ethical than conventional products. The demand for organic products is estimated to be growing at a rate of 15-20 per cent per annum, with sales reaching $US23 billion in 2002. The biggest growth in consumption has occurred in developed countries such as the United States and Europe, which are major importers of organic foods. Australia, as a major exporter of agricultural products, stands to benefit from this expansion in demand. However, little is known about the organic industry by other agribusinesses and little research on organics has been conducted in Australia, especially compared to the United States and Europe. The objective of this paper is to provide a contemporary overview of the Australian organic food products industry, including production, marketing and certification of organic foods. Major supply issues such as the small production base and the low rate of conversion to organic farming and major demand issues such as availability, prices and product integrity are discussed. Areas identified for further research include data collection and reporting of production, consumption and trade of organic products, consumer and producer attitudes towards, and expectations of, organic farming, product integrity and labelling regulation, competition from other sustainable farming systems, and future industry structure of the organic sector. Outputs from the research will provide market information to the organic industry that helps identify marketing opportunities and develop strategies for meeting market requirements and sustaining industry growth.Agribusiness, Marketing,