Context

A transformational change is required in farm business management to ensure businesses become, and remain, resilient in the face of market shocks, volatility in input prices, changing weather patterns and reducing support payments. For many years farm businesses have been operating in a privileged business environment, justified by the need for food security. This has now changed. Guaranteed prices are no longer in place and farmers must compete in a global market place dictated by supply and demand. At the same time direct support payments are being reduced and farmers must rely on managing their Costs of Production to ensure long term profitability.  The impact of changing weather patterns; public demand to enhance and protect the natural environment and biodiversity, as well as tackling climate change, further conspire to threaten the traditional approach to farm business management. Yet resilient farm businesses are central to achieving these important goals.
To make the required change to improve production efficiency, enhance the environment and tackle climate change, farm business managers need knowledge, and delivered in a manner which allows them to interpret it in a way in which they can then apply it to their own business. The traditional MF model goes some way to achieving this in that it is an effective vehicle for KE, but there is a gap in linking all the elements together at a whole farm level which is necessary to deliver these key objectives. This project will fill that gap.