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tom wrote: > richard wrote: >> tom wrote: >> >>> richard wrote: >>> >>>> tom wrote: >>>> >>>> >>>>> Eion MacDonald wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> tom wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>> I mismanage a smallholding and have just had some stuff through >>>>>>> from >>>>>>> Defra re the 2010 Agricultural Census. This is meant to be a full >>>>>>> census >>>>>>> of farming in the UK for the EU and will presumably go towards >>>>>>> policy >>>>>>> and grants etc. >>>>>>> They are planning NOT to ask farms below a certain size for >>>>>>> information!!!! >>>>>>> I cant think of a better way of skewing the information in >>>>>>> favour of >>>>>>> agri-business and away from higher productivity small units. >>>>>>> Tom having a major fume! >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> An economic study in 1980s, ( and the economist was my boss man) >>>>>> the >>>>>> study found that 'productivity' was inversely proportional to >>>>>> 'apparent >>>>>> site size' except in monoculture systems, these could not be indexed >>>>>> properly as damage long term was catastrophic (dust bowls >>>>>> etc)outside 50 >>>>>> year records as repeat events. >>>>>> A real damnation of 'collective farm system' in soviet side and was >>>>>> used >>>>>> to show allotments or family vegetable gardens (UK style when family >>>>>> managed) had high productivity! However productivity of >>>>>> allotments in >>>>>> 1980s was below that in 1940s but with more varied crops. >>>>>> >>>>> What really got me about it is if the threshold is ( say) 50 acres >>>>> then france would have 10 farms. >>>>> The EU will use the information when setting grant levels and the UK >>>>> will get practically nothing. >>>>> The excuse they gave was so as not to encumber the smaller farmer. >>>>> More like can find anyone to write a really simple online database >>>>> that one could spend 2 minutes inputting the data. >>>>> Tom te tom te tom >>>>> >>>> I think the idea is to survey people who make a living from >>>> farming, or >>>> try to, not including units which are probably subsidised from other >>>> income. While it is often true that small units can be more intensive >>>> who wants to work for below minimum wage? (if you do I can find you >>>> something to do! ) >>>> >>> many many people do work part time on farms - they have other jobs. On >>> the farm next door to me - some 300 acres altogether - most of the >>> family have other jobs, shal we ignore them too? >>> What this will mean is that we WONT know. Tom te tom te tom >>> >>> >> did they say what the minimum size was? 50 acres would be a viable veg >> farm, but if policy is made to suit retired accountants with a couple >> of llamas would that be a good thing? >> it is a damming engagement of agricultural policy over the last 30 >> years that your neighbours have to have other jobs in order to make a >> living in the only really essential industry in the world. >> > They havent said what the minimum size is yet. But during the war 1.4 > million allotments produced 1.3 million tons pa. Now an allotment is > 302 sq yds and an acre is 4840 sq yds so were talking 15 tons an acre > as opposed to 200lb of beef or 1 ton of wheat. And you'd get a good > 1/2 pig from an allotments waste. > So where would you start. Theres about 300,000 holdings in the UK but > I cant find figures on size distribution but I'd imagine its skewed to > the lower end. So lets be generous and say 50,000 at 10 acres they > reject that's greater than the total vegetable crop production area > for the UK. Its going to be statistically VERY significant whatever. > But if you dont collect the data...! > Tom > if you only get a ton of wheat you are going very wrong somewhere! commercial potatoes should produce about 20 tons/acre, and beef 300kg livewieght or more. By the way feeding household waste to pigs is now illegal! for their justification of their method see ; http://www.defra.gov.uk/esg/work_htm/publications/cs/farmstats_web/1_ABOUT_THE_SURVEY/FAQs_ABOUT_THE_DATA_AND_SURVEY/Introduction.htm#samplingstrategy -- The Mailing List for the Devon & Cornwall LUG http://mailman.dclug.org.uk/listinfo/list FAQ: http://www.dcglug.org.uk/linux_adm/list-faq.html