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THE VIEW FROM MANY AT the conference- whether or not you wanted to stay in the EU- was that there was no reneging on the Brexit decision, so now was the time to start planning ahead and making the most of whatever challenges and also opportunities this historic change presents.
Believing that the Defra Secretary is standing up for the needs of the industry would obviously help industry confidence, but many farmers
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have turned their attention to their business plans and on doing their best to ensure those plans are as robust as possible, whatever the outcome of the Brexit negotiations.
One of the strong messages from many speakers was that a positive attitude towards farming in the post-Brexit era might prove to be one of farming’ s biggest assets.
NFU deputy president Minette Batters pointed out that now is the time for farmers to
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engage with their communities and MPs about the importance of the industry. Nobody will promote agriculture for us, so she urged farmers to speak up for themselves.
That is something farmers – with their eyes always on the future- will undoubtedly be doing.
SPRING BUDGET Sarah Dodds, Head of Agricultural & Rural Business at MHA MacIntyre Hudson, says there was little for
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the farming community to cheer about from this Spring Budget:
“ The Chancellor has made no big changes and given little away in this Budget, and most farming businesses will be worse off as a result.”
We will be taking a closer look at the impact of the changes in the June issue.
NOTE As from April, Farmers Mart will become a quarterly publication.
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AGRI-ENVIRONMENTAL consultancy Alltech E-CO2 recently launched a new website offering farmers and the wider food industry knowledge on resource efficiency. In addition to free farm efficiency assessments, the site also hosts new interactive‘ virtual farm’ graphics that provide quick and easy information on the main origins of carbon emissions.
“ The new website offers opportunities to gain a better understanding of the factors affecting food production efficiency, as well as access to tools that will help farmers improve enterprise performance,” said Ben Braou, general business manager at Alltech E-CO2.
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“ A farm’ s carbon footprint is an accurate indicator of performance efficiency and, therefore, profitability,” continued Braou.“ So managing the business to minimise emissions helps the bottom line as well as the environment.”
‘ quick and easy information on the main origins of carbon emissions’
The website’ s interactive online‘ What If?’ tools, which calculate carbon footprints from enterprise input and performance data, offer a good starting point by providing farmers with a quick and simple opportunity
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to assess and benchmark their business efficiency. The tools offer insight into current practices and provide opportunities to see how changes can benefit performance. As such, using the online tools provides a good introduction to more comprehensive farm assessments, which Alltech E-CO2 finds give farmers the best opportunities to review and improve their businesses.
The interactive‘ virtual farm’ graphics are currently available for both ruminant and nonruminant livestock enterprises, providing a quick guide to the origins of greenhouse gas emissions. The new site also highlights Alltech E-CO2’ s wider range of farming solutions, which include tools to calculate
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costs of production, evaluate biodiversity and measure water footprints.
Alltech E-CO2 works closely with the Carbon Trust and other independent bodies to ensure its assessment tools are technically sound, robust and accredited. The company has pioneered the use of on-farm environmental tools and assessments with software licensed globally. To date, it has carried out more than 6,000 farm consultancy visits throughout Europe, commonly in collaboration with food processors and supermarkets, and is now operating as far afield as the United States of America and Australia.
To view the new website, go to alltech-e-co2. com
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