PEAK PERFORMANCE – LEAF's first conference on 26th September 2002

With so much discussion going on about the future of farming it is often difficult to identify the way forward. LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) have organised a conference seeking to point a clear direction for farmers, consumers and environmentalists and to dispel some of the barriers related to money, fact and fiction.

LEAF have been working to assist farmers to move towards more sustainable practices through the adoption of Integrated Farm Management (IFM). IFM is a complex balance of all farm resources, including soil, air, water, people, machinery, capital, and wildlife habitats, landscape and archaeological features.

For many farmers IFM is a logical development of their current farming system combining the best of traditional farming with appropriate modern technology. IFM balances responsible resource management, animal welfare, care of the countryside and economic viability for the benefit of all.

WE WELCOME YOU TO COME AND JOIN US AT LEAF’S FIRST CONFERENCE – PEAK PERFORMANCE, ON 26^TH SEPTEMBER 2002, AT Battleby, Perth, Scotland.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Good environmental practice and profitable agricultural practice are not mutually exclusive.  The Bank of Scotland is pleased to be the major sponsor of the LEAF Conference which will highlight practical points which will enhance the environment but maintain   farm profitability.  Stuart Elder,  Director of Agriculture, Bank of Scotland

KEY MESSAGES TO LOOK OUT FOR AT THE PEAK PERFORMANCE CONFERENCE

Professor Tony Trewavas will set out the direction for farming with a strong message:

·        Integrated Farm Management is currently the most sustainable form of farming to lead the UK into the 21^st Century – over and above organic farming.

·        There is a need for farming to be efficient to best preserve the natural environment and the compromise between environmentalists who never cost environmental policies, and economists who perhaps know the cost of everything and the value of nothing.

Tricia Henton will talk on 'Legislation, directives and confusion - or is it? Making sense of diffuse pollution and NVZs'.

§         The issues facing farmer are complex but are logical and not confused;

§         The farming industry needs to make sure it understands the direction of change;

§         SEPA is here to help.

Kirsty Macleod, of People Too will address the questions of Tony Trewavas by taking the bold step of putting a value to the environment:

§         Scotland is being invaded by the land management theories of the UK single-interest pressure groups who are keen to transform £0.5m per annum into green subsidies and consultancy fees. But what was originally billed as an injection of more biodiversity into Scotland’s farmland in suddenly looking like a much wider agenda.

§         Public subsidies for wildlife.  There is a lot of media spin, but little to show that the bureaucratic conservation approach is delivering the goods. It is time to look at the track record of the “experts” and what some of their methods might cost the taxpayer.

§         The challenge for Scottish farmers is to transform their home spun image and practices into an effective rival for government attention. UK conservation is a dull treadmill of science, bureaucracy, data collection, targets and specialist advice-giving and yet successfully markets itself to the wider public through beautiful images of nature. Is there a lesson to be learned there?

Alistair MacLennan, LEAF Demonstration Farmer will bring a sense of reality to the morning sessions.  As more and more stakeholders get involved in the rural debate, fewer and fewer farmers are left to put all the ideas into practice.  Alistair illustrates the pleasure of farming with a mission – to produce what is wanted and be flexible enough to survive. Two key points include -

§         The environment – it is a product that should be paid for, the same as any other product

§         The reduction in numbers of true farmers on the ground as one of, if not the biggest threat there is, to integrated and sustainable countryside management. 

Taking it all forward – 4 perspectives

In the afternoon there will be a quick fire session of the issues facing the industry as a whole – which, through LEAF and Integrated Farm Management, can be addressed

Development – Dr Simon Oxley

Taking research forward

·        Minimum cultivations

§         Biotechnology – working with researchers

§         Plant varieties

§         Getting the message across

Research – Prof John Hillman

Science to underpin farmers decision making

·        Crop breeding

§         Decision support systems

§         Gene flow and biotechnology

Advice – Keith Dawson

Advisers are one of the few groups to go onto farm at the invitation of the farmer

·        Advisors hold the key to making more farmers embrace change through technology transfer

·        Scientific and Economic proof is essential in decision making on the farm

·        Consistent message to farmers is critical

Consumer confidence – Caroline Drummond

Focusing on the end market is critical to provide a focus for the farm business

§         Understanding

§         Seeing is believing

§         Trust and respect

Guy Smith challenges how we should shout out load and rebrand UK Agriculture:

§         The way agriculture is viewed by the general public is changed fundamentally in the last generation. The industry has not responded to this change effectively and is now starting to pay the price for this failure.

§         Whether we like it or not, in the future, more and more questions are going to be asked of farmers and farming. We cannot afford to duck these questions. If we do others, usually with anti-farming agendas, will answer them for us.

§         Why am I a LEAF farmer? Because LEAF recognises the two challenges presented in the above points and lays out an effective strategy of response.

And finally:

Gavin Bailey reminds us who this all for – the ultimate customer! 

·        Establishing the future technical priorities for the food and non-food businesses. 

·        Through reconnecting consumers with their food, Gavin will highlight how LEAF, its supporters and producer members are well placed to meet future challenges, especially in light of the recent development of the LEAF Marque

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To attend the conference please contact the LEAF office by e:mail enquiries@leafuk.org or phone 02476413911 for booking information.