Objectives
The project addresses the need for transformational change to farmers' business management to improve resilience. The objective is to help build a strong knowledge and skills based industry focused on creating and maintaining productive, profitable and sustainable farm businesses by:
Facilitating Knowledge Exchange between like-minded peers
Enabling personal & professional development of farmers
Facilitating mentoring; cooperation & collaboration between farmers
Initiating and encouraging farmer driven innovation
Improving resource use efficiency
Protecting and enhancing biodiversity and water quality
Managing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions
Objectives
The project addresses the need for transformational change to farmers' business management to improve resilience. The objective is to help build a strong knowledge and skills based industry focused on creating and maintaining productive, profitable and sustainable farm businesses by:
Facilitating Knowledge Exchange between like-minded peers
Enabling personal & professional development of farmers
Facilitating mentoring; cooperation & collaboration between farmers
Initiating and encouraging farmer driven innovation
Improving resource use efficiency
Protecting and enhancing biodiversity and water quality
Managing carbon and greenhouse gas emissions
Activities
The establishment of 9 new Monitor Farms
6 on-farm meetings per Monitor Farm annually for 3 years (162 meetings total):
Each meeting to have an on-line/social media topical discussion before, during and following meetings
A facilitated Business Benchmarking sub-group per Monitor Farm, holding three meetings annually for 8-12 participants
18 meeting reports produced per Monitor Farm for Community Group members (162 in total) and the wider agricultural community via operational group members’ websites and the new Monitor Farm website
2 annual reports and one final report per Monitor Farm
A new Monitor Farm website: a hub to share meeting details, reports, topical issues and other messages
Activities
The establishment of 9 new Monitor Farms
6 on-farm meetings per Monitor Farm annually for 3 years (162 meetings total):
Each meeting to have an on-line/social media topical discussion before, during and following meetings
A facilitated Business Benchmarking sub-group per Monitor Farm, holding three meetings annually for 8-12 participants
18 meeting reports produced per Monitor Farm for Community Group members (162 in total) and the wider agricultural community via operational group members’ websites and the new Monitor Farm website
2 annual reports and one final report per Monitor Farm
A new Monitor Farm website: a hub to share meeting details, reports, topical issues and other messages
Contexte
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.
Project details
- Main funding source
- Rural development 2014-2020 for Operational Groups
- Rural Development Programme
- 2014UK06RDRP003 United Kingdom - Rural Development Programme (Regional) - Scotland
Emplacement
- Main geographical location
- Edinburgh, City of
€ 1499208
Total budget
Total contributions from EAFRD, national co-financing, additional national financing and other financing.
Contacts
Project coordinator
-
Quality Meat Scotland
Project coordinator
Project partners
-
The Moredun Foundation
Project partner