West Midlands Region

Farmer2000

Bulletin No.23 March 2007

Working with farmers to assist the industry in tailoring
their products and services in line with farmers’ expectations

A recent poll with 1,412 farmers has revealed that almost three quarters (72%) are not worried about Avian Flu. Even those with poultry do not appear much more concerned, with 60% saying they were not worried.

Just over two-thirds (67%) of the 314 farmers with poultry polled, said they would not vaccinate their birds.

Farmers from the West Midlands reflected the national average, with 70% stating they were not worried about Avian Flu and 30% stating that they were.

Almost half (13 out of 28) of the farmers polled in the West Midlands who had poultry would vaccinate their birds.

Indication that the average size of herds has decreased

Farmer 2000 is an ongoing survey conducted with farmers by the National Farm Research Unit (NFRU). We have looked at the results from March 05 to Feb 06 (with 7,083 farmers) and compared these to the results for the same period in 06-07 (with 12,226 farmers). These comparisons are shown in the chart below, and show that:

	The average size of a dairy herd has decreased from 136 in 05-06 to 118 in 06-07. Furthermore, the percentage of dairy farmers interviewed has decreased marginally from 35% in 05-06 to 32% in 06-07, suggesting that some may have stopped farming or changed enterprise. In the West Midlands region the size of dairy herds has decreased marginally (see chart below), as has the percentage of the dairy farmers interviewed (from 39% to 35%). The average annual yield per cow has decreased significantly since last year, from 6,008 litres to 2,126 litres.
	The average size of a beef herd has decreased from 140 in 05-06 to 120 in 06-07. However, the percentage of beef farmers interviewed has increased slightly, from 70% in 05-06 to 73% in 06-07. When asked, over three-quarters of beef farmers (78%) thought that their beef enterprise would stay the same over the next 12 months. The remaining farmers were split evenly, with 9% saying their beef enterprise would decrease and 9% thinking it would increase. In the West Midlands region beef farming appears quite consistent as the size of beef herds has only decreased marginally (see chart above), and the percentage of beef farmers interviewed has increased (from 64% to 70%). Furthermore, the majority (73%) thought their beef enterprise would stay the same over the next 12 months.
	The average number of breeding ewes in a flock has decreased from 586 in 05-06 to 418 in 06-07. However, the percentage of farmers interviewed with sheep has remained the same at 55%. In the West Midlands region the average number of the breeding ewes has decreased (see chart above), although the percentage of sheep farmers interviewed has increased from 52% to 55%.

Barley the most popular choice for spring cropping

A survey conducted by the National Farm Research Unit (NFRU) with 5,716 farmers has shown that the most popular spring crop grown last year was spring barley, with almost 95,500ha being grown last year across Great Britain by the survey respondents.

In the West Midlands 90 farmers grew just over 2,035ha of spring barley, accounting for 2% of all spring barley grown by the survey participants across Great Britain.

Spring wheat, spring oats and spring oilseed rape were also grown, although in smaller quantities than spring barley (see chart above). Farmers based in the West Midlands region grew approximately 100-120ha of spring oilseed rape and oats, but grew more spring wheat (just under 345ha). In fact, farmers in the West Midlands were responsible for 7% of all the spring wheat grown by the survey respondents across Great Britain.

Wider range of barley varieties grown for the first time compared to other crops

The majority of farmers interviewed had not grown any new varieties of spring crops last year. However, those who had were more likely to try ‘new’ varieties of barley, which is not surprising given the popularity of growing spring barley compared to other crops. The ‘top’ barley varieties grown for the first time were:

	Cocktail (by 90 farmers; equating to 3.2% of the farmers growing a barley variety for the first time);
	Oxbridge (by 49 farmers; equating to 1.7% of the farmers growing a barley variety for the first time);
	Westminster (by 48 farmers; equating to 1.7% of the farmers growing a barley variety for the first time); and
	Optic (by 45 farmers; equating to 1.6% of the farmers growing a barley variety for the first time).