UK: Research shows Welsh farmers adapting to new challenges

Published 2023년 2월 24일

Tridge summary

Over 400 beef and sheep farmers in Wales responded to a survey by the HCC, sharing their future business plans and current challenges. The majority of farmers are making no changes to their stocking rates, with some even increasing them. Many farmers are also adapting their land management practices to be more efficient and sustainable, by reducing fertilizer use and changing grassland management methods. The main concerns for farmers include rising input costs, uncertainty about Brexit policy frameworks, support payments, water quality regulations, and future trade agreements.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Over 400 beef and sheep farmers responded to a HCC survey in late 2022 looking at their future business intentions. The results have been used to inform future policy, with key headlines disseminated to government and industry. In line with other surveys undertaken by farming unions and others, the results found that a significant minority of farmers were reducing stocking rates in the short term in response to rises in costs prompted by inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine. However, encouragingly 43% of sheep farmers reported no change in stocking numbers, and in fact 13% were increasing the size of their flocks. Those looking to keep slightly lower numbers (a reduction of 10% or less) amounted to 31% of the total sheep farmers. Similarly, 40% of beef farmers had no intention of changing stocking rates, and 11% were looking to increase their numbers. Significantly, a sizeable proportion of farmers were proposing to adapt their land management systems in order to become more ...

Source: EuroMeat