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Re: [LUG] OT:Agricultural Census 2010

 

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


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