Wales Farm Income booklet published
This year’s ever popular, farmer-friendly pocket sized copy of the ‘Wales Farm Income Booklet 2010/11’ has just been published and will be arriving on farmer’s doorsteps in the November edition of Gwlad.
The booklet (again kindly sponsored by Farming Connect) features the latest information on farm incomes in Wales and is designed to assist farmers in benchmarking their businesses.
This edition is a special one – it marks the 75th Anniversary of the Survey and it offers vital information for Welsh farmers to help them prepare for changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Published by the Farm Business Survey Unit at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (Aberystwyth University), the Booklet is based on the full Farm Business Survey. The Survey is funded annually by the Welsh Government, and covers over 550 farms in Wales.
Speaking ahead of the booklet’s publication Tony O’Regan, Director of the Farm Business Survey said:
“This booklet is aimed at providing farmers with a user friendly benchmarking tool and incorporates the latest financial and physical information for the main farm types in Wales. As Common Agriculture Policy changes loom on the horizon, it is hoped that it will prove useful and informative in aiding farmers to adjust to new economic circumstances.”
The booklet features sections on Whole Farm Data, Gross Margins, and Total Cost of Production.
• The Whole Farm Data section presents detail on outputs, inputs and profit, together with balance sheet, physical information and a range of selected performance indicators. Contrary to normal FBS presentation of results, notional inputs such as rental value for owned land and unpaid labour have been taken out, whereas finance charges have been included, so that the figures represent actual costs incurred.
• The Gross Margin section shows detailed income and costs for each enterprise and also presents the gross margins for beef, sheep and dairy enterprises.
• The Total Cost of Production section presents the unit cost of producing a kg/litre of produce by allocating overhead costs to the specific enterprises on the farm. All three of the above sections have been set out with benchmarking in mind.
Tony O’Regan added:“The results highlight the significant differences in efficiency between ‘average’ and the ‘top-third’ performing farms, on a range of efficiency measures, such as per effective hectare, per animal, per kilogramme throughput of lamb and beef and per litre of milk. For example, the top third performing hill sheep farms £ per effective hectare profit was double that of the overall average farm in the sample.
“Particular attention needs to be given to the contribution of the Single Farm Payment (SFP) and other subsidies to individual total farm output and profit after rent and finance, so that the reader can envisage the potential impact of any CAP reform. For example, the SFP, Tir Mynydd and other indirect payments (Organic Scheme, ESA, Tir Gofal etc.) contributed around 40% of farm outputs and 140% of profits, on average, for hill sheep farms.”
An electronic copy of the booklet is available at http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/ibers/enterprise-kt/fbs/fbs-database/booklets/
The above booklet is for selected farm types only. The full farm income results for Wales for the 2010/2011 year, published under normal FBS methodology, will be published later in the year as the annual report ‘Farm Business Survey in Wales: Statistical Results for 2010/2011’.This report allows changes in farm incomes between 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 to be identified.
The Farm Business Survey has been conducted by Aberystwyth University since 1936 and is widely recognised as the most authoritative survey of the financial position and performance of farm incomes. The survey collects information from a randomly selected sample of over 550 Welsh farms and co-operating farmers are provided with individual feedback of their results and comparative data at the end of the survey year. This information proves a vital tool for farmers to benchmark their farms against similar Welsh businesses.
The Survey is completely confidential, independent and impartial. It is used to inform policy makers, farmers and the agricultural industry of the current economic state of the industry. The results are also used at National and European level in determining agricultural policy support.
The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, was established in April 2008 following the merger of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, formerly part of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with Aberystwyth University. IBERS continues to receive significant funding for research from the BBSRC and benefits from financial support from the Welsh Government, DEFRA and the European Union.
Around 300 research, teaching and support staff conduct basic, strategic and applied research in biology from the level of genes and other molecules to the impact of climate change and bio-energy on sustainable agriculture and land use.
The booklet (again kindly sponsored by Farming Connect) features the latest information on farm incomes in Wales and is designed to assist farmers in benchmarking their businesses.
This edition is a special one – it marks the 75th Anniversary of the Survey and it offers vital information for Welsh farmers to help them prepare for changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
Published by the Farm Business Survey Unit at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (Aberystwyth University), the Booklet is based on the full Farm Business Survey. The Survey is funded annually by the Welsh Government, and covers over 550 farms in Wales.
Speaking ahead of the booklet’s publication Tony O’Regan, Director of the Farm Business Survey said:
“This booklet is aimed at providing farmers with a user friendly benchmarking tool and incorporates the latest financial and physical information for the main farm types in Wales. As Common Agriculture Policy changes loom on the horizon, it is hoped that it will prove useful and informative in aiding farmers to adjust to new economic circumstances.”
The booklet features sections on Whole Farm Data, Gross Margins, and Total Cost of Production.
• The Whole Farm Data section presents detail on outputs, inputs and profit, together with balance sheet, physical information and a range of selected performance indicators. Contrary to normal FBS presentation of results, notional inputs such as rental value for owned land and unpaid labour have been taken out, whereas finance charges have been included, so that the figures represent actual costs incurred.
• The Gross Margin section shows detailed income and costs for each enterprise and also presents the gross margins for beef, sheep and dairy enterprises.
• The Total Cost of Production section presents the unit cost of producing a kg/litre of produce by allocating overhead costs to the specific enterprises on the farm. All three of the above sections have been set out with benchmarking in mind.
Tony O’Regan added:“The results highlight the significant differences in efficiency between ‘average’ and the ‘top-third’ performing farms, on a range of efficiency measures, such as per effective hectare, per animal, per kilogramme throughput of lamb and beef and per litre of milk. For example, the top third performing hill sheep farms £ per effective hectare profit was double that of the overall average farm in the sample.
“Particular attention needs to be given to the contribution of the Single Farm Payment (SFP) and other subsidies to individual total farm output and profit after rent and finance, so that the reader can envisage the potential impact of any CAP reform. For example, the SFP, Tir Mynydd and other indirect payments (Organic Scheme, ESA, Tir Gofal etc.) contributed around 40% of farm outputs and 140% of profits, on average, for hill sheep farms.”
An electronic copy of the booklet is available at http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/ibers/enterprise-kt/fbs/fbs-database/booklets/
The above booklet is for selected farm types only. The full farm income results for Wales for the 2010/2011 year, published under normal FBS methodology, will be published later in the year as the annual report ‘Farm Business Survey in Wales: Statistical Results for 2010/2011’.This report allows changes in farm incomes between 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 to be identified.
The Farm Business Survey has been conducted by Aberystwyth University since 1936 and is widely recognised as the most authoritative survey of the financial position and performance of farm incomes. The survey collects information from a randomly selected sample of over 550 Welsh farms and co-operating farmers are provided with individual feedback of their results and comparative data at the end of the survey year. This information proves a vital tool for farmers to benchmark their farms against similar Welsh businesses.
The Survey is completely confidential, independent and impartial. It is used to inform policy makers, farmers and the agricultural industry of the current economic state of the industry. The results are also used at National and European level in determining agricultural policy support.
The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS), Aberystwyth University, was established in April 2008 following the merger of the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, formerly part of the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), with Aberystwyth University. IBERS continues to receive significant funding for research from the BBSRC and benefits from financial support from the Welsh Government, DEFRA and the European Union.
Around 300 research, teaching and support staff conduct basic, strategic and applied research in biology from the level of genes and other molecules to the impact of climate change and bio-energy on sustainable agriculture and land use.
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