Preview of 2011: Crucial decisions lie ahead

Key industry figures share their views on what the next 12 months will bring.

Mike Clarke

“I believe 2011 will define the way we farm for years to come. Crucial decisions will be made on reforming the Common Agricultural Policy. These will shape the work of farmers and the way we manage the countryside for the next decade and beyond.

We are all aware of the hard economic times we find ourselves in, and making the case to maintain payments for farmers won’t be easy. That is why we need real leadership from politicians who can see the bigger picture. Only then will farmers be prepared for a new payments system which asks them to produce food for a growing population in a way that protects our precious countryside wildlife.

We will continue working closely with farmers and those groups who want to see them properly rewarded for the environmental benefits they provide, whilst making sure the market rewards them fairly for the food they produce. I am certain that working together will yield benefits for farmers and farmland birds.”

Peter Morris

“The expectation is for prices to remain firm in 2011 so the challenge for sheep farmers must be to ensure they have a detailed knowledge of their cost of production. Without that, it is impossible to identify the areas where costs can be reduced and margins enhanced. The results might not always make good reading but there is little point in hiding from the truth.

Much capital is now tied up in sheep as a result of the buoyant trade. With cull values high and disposal costs painful the decisions on what to keep an extra year and what not to, have never been more important.

Despite the good prices, how much do we really know about what our diverse customer base wants from sheep meat. With Muslims representing 3% of the population but eating 30% of the sheep meat produced it is about time all sheep farmers really got to grips with understanding the seasonal requirements of this trade and planning sales accordingly.”

Lyndon Edwards

Dairy farmer and former RABDF chairman

“I believe the dairy sector will continue to polarise in 2011. Milk prices will become even more volatile, with the gap widening between the highest and lowest prices being paid. Dairy farmers will need to choose between seasonal or flat profile and niche production systems, supply markets capable of paying a guaranteed price to cover the high cost of this type of system, or go for least cost seasonal production in order to compete with commodity imports from abroad.

Large zero-grazed herds and the supermarkets who sell their products will come under increasing pressure from the animal welfare lobby. However, this may give some farmers an opportunity to supply a free range type of product to consumers not willing to pay a full organic premium, but still wanting to buy welfare friendly products.

We should congratulate supermarkets who follow the new country-of-origin labelling guidelines and name and shame those that don’t, if all retailers complied, it would increase the demand for British products and stop misleading consumers.”