Richard Tranter

The value of countryside access: a contingent valuation survey of visitors to the Ridgeway National Trail in the United Kingdom.

A contingent valuation survey of users of the 140 km Ridgeway National Trail was undertaken to estimate the value that users place on access to the Trail. The survey found that users had a mean willingness to pay for access to the Ridgeway of £1.24 per visit (£1.13– £1.36 95% Confidence Limits). With around 150 000 visits to the Ridgeway each year, this gives an estimated annual aggregate benefit of £186 000 (£169 500– £204 000 95% Confidence Limits) plus the economic benefits to local economies of visitor spending of some £0.8 million. This compares with the costs of Trail maintenance of around £154 000 per year. The development of National Trails in England for recreation and tourism is also discussed.

The value of footpath provision in the countryside: a case-study of public access to urban-fringe woodland

This paper presents a case-study of valuation of public access to a woodland site owned by The Crown Estate in Windsor Forest. It supports the view that contingent valuation is an appropriate technique to use for assessing recreational benefits in the countryside and that consistent and useful results can be obtained. The study found that the recreational benefits far outweighed the costs of access provision, thus giving reassurance to the providers that their efforts are worthwhile.

The likely effects of climate change on agricultural land use in England and Wales

Abstract This article summarises the results of a modelling study that examines how the geographical pattern of agricultural land use and production in England and Wales might be affected by climate change. Various scenarios of regional climate change are considered by the model within a price and demand framework of a world food market also affected by global warming. The study concludes that over 3M ha of current farmland may become unprofitable for agriculture by 2060 (assuming no climate change). In addition, under the global warming scenarios postulated, a radical shift in the location of agricultural production, particularly of cereals, would be likely to occur. The merits of this modelling approach and its usefulness are also discussed.

Consumer attitudes to injurious pecking in free range egg production

Free range egg producers face continuing problems from injurious pecking (IP) which has financial consequences for farmers and poor welfare implications for birds. Beak trimming has been practised for many years to limit the damage caused by IP, but with the UK Government giving notification that they intend to ban beak trimming in 2016, considerable efforts have been made to devise feasible housing, range and management strategies to reduce IP. A recent research project investigated the efficacy of a range of IP reducing management strategies, the mean costs of which came to around 5 pence per bird. Here, the results of the above project’s consumer survey are presented: consumers’ attitudes to free range egg production are detailed showing that, whilst consumers had a very positive attitude towards free range eggs, they were especially uninformed about some aspects of free range egg production. The contingent valuation technique was used to estimate the price premium consumers would be prepared to pay to ensure that hens do not suffer from IP: this was calculated as just over 3% on top of the prevailing retail price of free range eggs. These findings reinforce other studies that have found that whilst consumers are not generally well-informed about certain specific welfare problems faced by animals under free range conditions, they are prepared to pay to improve animal welfare. Indeed, the study findings suggest that producers could obtain an additional price premium if they demonstrate the welfare provenance of their eggs, perhaps through marketing the eggs as coming from birds with intact beaks. This welfare provenance issue could usefully be assured to consumers by the introduction of a mandatory, single, accredited EU-wide welfare-standards labelling scheme.

Budgetary Implications of, and Motives for, Converting to Organic Farming: Case Study Farm Business Evidence from Great Britain

ABSTRACT This paper explores the financial implications of converting to organic farming in Great Britain through a case study of farmers considering conversion in 2002. Most study farmers were motivated to convert for financial, not ideological or life-style reasons; organic meat production was the most common planned enterprise, although those choosing to produce milk, vegetables and cereals were also studied in depth. At the time of study, organic beef and sheep meat production was particularly profitable. It was found that, in these product sectors, a large improvement in Family Farm Income would result if organic production was introduced on the case study farms. With few exceptions, a fall in Family Farm Income during the conversion period would not be an obstacle to farmers changing to organic methods. Fixed cost changes would also not deter conversion but expensive investment in new livestock and appropriate buildings would be required by some of those businesses studied. These findings are, however, dependent upon the price premia assumptions used and, whilst these premia have dropped slightly since the time of study, this would lessen the financial shortfall during the conversion period. There is also the possibility that reversion to conventional agricultural production might occur, perhaps at a faster rate than the original conversion process that was taking place around the turn of the century.

Evaluating the likelihood of the adoption of an animal welfare assessment system in European agri-food supply chains

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the likelihood of adoption of a recently designed Welfare Assessment System in agri‐food supply chains and the factors affecting the adoption decision. The application is carried out for pig and poultry chains.Design/methodology/approach – This research consisted of two main components: interviews with retailers in pig and poultry supply chains in eight different EU countries to explore their perceptions towards the adoption possibilities of the welfare assessment system; and a conjoint analysis designed to evaluate the perceived adoption likelihood of the assessment system by different Standards Formulating Organisations (SFOs).Findings – Stakeholders were found to be especially concerned about the costs of implementation of the system and how it could, or should, be merged with existing assurance schemes. Another conclusion of the study is that the presence of a strong third independent party supporting the implementation of the welfare assessment system...

Regional land use and employment impacts of bovine spongiform encephalopathy slaughter policy measures in England

Abstract The paper explores the likely national, regional and industry level impacts of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) Florence Agreement control measures on agricultural land use and employment in England by the year 2000. Three different modelling approaches were combined, involving a dynamic spreadsheet model of UK milk and beef supply, a linear programming-based model of land use and an employment model based on input–output and employment relationships within the economy. This modelling exercise found that, by 2000, the impact of the BSE crisis and the culling policy will have resulted in relatively small reductions in the output of beef and milk compared to pre-crisis (1995) levels alongside partially compensating increases in the outputs of sheep, pigs and poultry. However, this masks significant likely regional variation. The knock-on effects on employment may also be substantial. The findings highlight the key importance of improving the future demand for UK-produced beef and lifting the world-wide ban on beef exports from the UK.

Climate Change and Land Use: Global and Regional Analyses

The potential effects of climate change on agricultural land use in any given region are likely to stem as much from the response of the world food system to global climate change as to specific changes in climate in that region. To achieve this level of analysis requires evaluation of inputs at the regional level but within a global price environment. This, in turn, requires the development of a hierarchy of land use/climate models. In this paper we employ results of a global analysis of the sensitivity of world food prices to climate change, using these as inputs to a regional land use allocation model, in order to evaluate the potential effects of climate change on regional patterns of land use.

Designing an Institutional Network for Improving Farm Animal Welfare in the EU

Improvements in the welfare of farmed animals in the EU have been achieved by legislation, increased welfare capacity in the food chain, greater public awareness, welfare measurement tools and dissemination of best practice. However, pressure for improvement grows. The EC recognizes that delivering improved welfare would best be achieved by increasing welfare capacity, including establishing a Network of Welfare Reference Centres to provide support for welfare research, knowledge transfer and policy design. Designing a structure for this Network presents a challenge, as it would have multiple functions, interact with diverse stakeholders and operate in a complex environment. Here, we describe the use of a novel strategic planning approach to design an optimal structure for this Network. Our evaluation found that no existing structure was ideal, but that by taking functional units from several existing models, an optimal model could be identified.