Crop-Livestock Farming Systems Assessment in Europe

This case study was discussed in all three workshops and of all the case studies presented was probably perceived as the most innovative, and therefore generated much discussion

Technical feasibility

In all three countries, it was felt that the San Giuliano case study and its innovative mixed farming activities were not very adaptable to their own situations. In general the production systems were felt to be too extensive and too reliant on their manure and slurry for fertility building to be suitable for a biogas plant. There seemed to be a lack of knowledge about how a biogas plant might fit into a farming system – it was not clear to the group that the digestate from the process can be returned to the farm and used for fertility building, thereby conserving N and P (only C is diverted). The confusion may have arisen due to San Giuliano selling their digestate as they had excess manure.

In all countries it was suggested that such a system would be much more suited to lowland intensive dairy or pig production and in Spain it could also be possible with the Oviaragon feedlot lamb finishing systems. Manure from this system is currently sold into another biogas plant in another region. Whilst there was little interest from the groups in terms of biogas plants, the case study generated a lot of discussion around alternative renewable energy systems such as solar and wind, which were thought to be much more relevant, especially in Wales and Spain.

The perceived difficulties associated with the implementation of a biogas plant varied across countries including planning difficulties, national park restrictions, complex supplier contracts and lack of infrastructure in the UK, lack of technical and financial knowledge related to biogas plants in Spain and small farm size and the need for manure to stay on the farm for fertility building (Switzerland). The idea of a co-operative biogas plant was discussed in Spain and Switzerland but again difficulties were identified including the cost (environmental and monetary) of having to transport manure to the plant site (there are legal restrictions on this in Switzerland) and the need for contracts and trust between fuel suppliers and the biogas plant. In Spain it was thought that the existing Oviaragon co-operative might be an ideal framework for establishing a biogas plant, especially in the context of the lamb finishing feedlots.

Economic viability

Participants in all three countries felt that the capital cost required to install a biogas plant on an individual farm were prohibitive, especially with the less intensive, pasture based types of farming systems that represented. The lack of government support for the installation of such plants and also recently reduced tariffs for “green” energy further reduced the economic viability of biogas plants in the eyes of the participants. In all three countries it was recognised that manure and slurry alone are not enough to fuel a biogas plant and that fuel from other sources would be necessary and both the availability and cost of this fuel would also reduce the systems viability. In Spain there were additional costs associated with the plant owners having to pay to use the national electricity grid. In Switzerland the participants stated that if they were to sell the digestate from a biogas plant as an extra source of income, then they would have to purchase more mineral fertiliser for their farming system.

Social Acceptability

Renewable energy systems were felt to be very well aligned with farming goals in Wales, Spain and Switzerland; however the costs and difficulties associated with biogas plants meant that this type of renewable energy generation was not acceptable. Wind and solar energy generation were already common practice in Wales, Spain and Switzerland and these were thought to be much more suited to their farming systems. They contributed to a diversified income stream, which in Wales was thought to be essential for the long term sustainability of their farming systems. In the UK there was also felt to be a moral conflict in the use of crops suitable for human and livestock consumption (e.g. maize and sugar beef) being used as biogas plant fuel. This is common practice in the UK. The Swiss workshop participants were clear that biogas plants were not suited to their dairy systems, however, solar energy was an alternative, as this was already implemented by some of the participating farmers.

Policy issues

In all countries there was a lack of Government support for capital investment in renewable energy systems (including biogas plants) and also a lack of stability in “green” energy tariffs, making it difficult for individual farming businesses to calculate a return on investment. In the UK the planning process makes installing a renewable energy system a very protracted process and many farmers lose interest in the process or do in fact miss the boat in terms of Government support windows that may open. In Spain the group identified that despite the fact that there are many intensive livestock production systems located in Nitrate Vulnerable Zone's and which can have problems disposing of manure and slurry, there is still no support for the establishment of biogas plants – indicating a possible lack of joined up thinking in policies related to these areas. Switzerland identified farm structural issues (too small farms to support biogas plants) and transport regulations restricting manure movement between different holdings as policy related barriers to both individual and co-operative biogas plants.

Recap chart

This case study was discussed in the Wales workshop and whilst the emphasis of the case study was on agro-forestry element, the workshop group were more interested in the collaborative elements of the Oviaragon case study.

Technical feasibility

The Welsh workshop participants did not feel that agro-forestry was particularly relevant for Welsh farmers as there was no requirement for shade or soil moisture conservation and pasture losses under such systems would be high. Establishment and tree maintenance costs would also be high and there would be a limited market for the wood. An alternative stratified system proposed by the group could be solar parks with grazing animals underneath.

Economic viability

The costs of agro-forestry were thought to outweigh the benefits and there would be a negative impact on single farm payment by having trees present (greater than 50 trees/ha).

Social Acceptability

In Wales, agro-forestry is not common and the group thought it was not really relevant to agriculture in Wales. All the farmers in the group were happy to plan trees for habitat and manage hedgerows as part of an agri-environment scheme for which they received payment. The collaborative elements of the Oviaragon co-operative for producing and marketing a quality product were of great interest for the Welsh farmers who felt they were currently notoriously bad a co-operating, but recognised that in order to have sustainable businesses into the future, would have to improve.

Policy relevant issues

There are currently single farm payment penalties for having more than 50 tree/ha and this put a lot of farmers in the group off the idea of agro-forestry even further.

Recap chart

This case study was discussed in Spain only and the group felt that many aspects of the case study were already taking place in Spain, though there were aspects of the case study that were new and could be applied in their systems (e.g. direct marketing).

Technical feasibility

The Spanish workshop participants felt that similar, very mixed farming systems that aim to be self-sufficient in feed, already exist in the geographically diverse mid-mountain region of Aragon. Like the Celtica case study this region lends itself to livestock farming on the more mountainous land alongside cropping/horticulture on the lower land. Direct marketing was something that was not common for many of these farms unless they were located in tourist regions. This was therefore seen a potential opportunity by some farmers. There were however some barriers identified to starting direct marketing including the fact that many small, local abattoirs had closed and that such enterprises were restricted to tourism areas.

Difficulties identified with developing diverse mixed farming systems like that described in the Celtica case study included increased workload and complexity of the farming system for managers, new skills are often required to be able to be a successful livestock and cropping farmer and understand how all the sub-systems interact and finally specialised cultivation and harvesting machinery would be required.

Economic Viability

One of the major problems identified related to this type of farming system was that the numbers of such farms are declining in Spain due to increased competition from specialized farms. Less specialization results in loss of efficiency in terms of labour input, resource use and skills etc. therefore it is difficult for mixed farming systems to compete. Land shortages and high prices of land also make it difficult for new mixed farms to establish as they often require greater land area than specialized farms, particularly if trying to be self-sufficient. In order for mixed farming system like those of Celtica to be sustainable they require support payments for ecosystems services. Economic advantages identified included being able to set your own price for products if you are selling them directly to the consumer and also being able to advertise the low carbon footprint of products being sold directly and produced sustainably.

Social acceptability

As mentioned previously these types of mixed farming system are common in the mid-mountain region of Aragon and are actually viewed as traditional farming systems, therefore their acceptability is high, particularly in high tourism areas where they enhance the farming landscape. Farmers in these areas want farming systems that are appealing to tourists and diversification into direct marketing would enhance the income of some of these farms. However, farmers do not want systems that are overly complex and difficult to manage and the workshop group mentioned they would be prepared to grow a few key crops alongside their livestock production but they would not want to go much further than that. A few thought that direct marketing would add another layer of complexity that they did not want.

Policy relevant issues

The numbers of diverse, mixed farm are declining in the Aragon region of Spain and the view of the group was that they needed more support via CAP payments for ecosystems services, especially for fire control which is a big issue in Spain. Another policy related issue is the closure of small local slaughter houses which is seen as being a barrier to establishing direct marketing for some producers.

Recap chart

This case study was presented and discussed in both the Wales and Spain workshops. There were many aspects of this case study that were familiar to the workshop participants in these countries and there was much discussion surrounding how the similar systems operated in their countries

Technical feasibility

The workshop participants in both countries stated that similar exchanges of animals between the uplands and lowlands, or within the lowlands occur already. In Wales and Spain, lambs and beef animals, respectively are commonly sold from upland/mountain farms to finishing farms in the lowlands. In both Wales and Spain, dairy heifers are usually reared up to calving on specialized units however this rearing is on a contract basis rather than the sale of the heifers as is the case in the Swiss case study. The dairy and heifer rearing units are usually both located in the lowlands. Co-operative rearing units were discussed in Spain, both for dairy heifers (which already exist) and potentially for ewe lamb replacements in the Oviaragon co-operative.

Participants in both countries thought that it is relatively easy to implement systems of exchange of livestock between specialist breeding/dairy systems and finishing/rearing units as a lot of this type of exchange is already taking place. There are however several problems identified associated with this animal exchange particularly related to the control of Bovine tuberculosis and other animal health problems (infectious foot rot in sheep). The workshop participants thought that in some ways the Swiss system where the dairy heifers are sold to the rearing unit was beneficial in terms of TB control in that the onus for control and also the risk of a TB break out was with the rearing unit. In the current UK and Spanish systems where the rearing is based on contract, the dairy farmer takes all the risk in terms of a TB outbreak – if an outbreak occurs on the rearing unit, the animals will potentially not be allowed back to the dairy farm until the all clear has been given. The Spanish workshop discussed the idea of co-operative heifer/ewe replacement rearing units and felt that having a close network of co-operating producers would improve trust between farmers and also provide an opportunity for greater disease control.

Economic feasibility

In both countries there were clear economic advantages identified through rearing heifers on specialized unit including heifers with a better lifetime performance through being managed and reared with more attention than can often be given on the home dairy farm; freeing up of land, labour and feed resources on the home dairy farm to either increase the level of mixed farming to become more self-sufficient in feed production, or in some cases (e.g. Switzerland) intensify the dairy enterprise. Some identified potential costs included major financial losses if a TB outbreak were to occur on the heifer rearing unit (UK), daily live weight gain losses caused by the transport of the animals and the need for them to adapt to their new environment and in Spain in particular, the cost of grazing in the mountain areas for rearing replacement ewe lambs was seen as quite high comparatively.

Social Acceptability

In both countries the issue of trust between specialist dairy farm and heifer rearing unit was discussed. Even though such exchanges of livestock are currently governed by contracts in Wales and Spain there is still a degree of trust required to relinquish control over what is effectively the future of the dairy herd (and livelihood) of the farm. Dairy farmers in Spain were very reluctant to give up this control, however sheep farmers seems happy for specialist units to rear their ewe lamb replacements as it would reduce their workload.

In terms of compatibility of the Swiss case study with farmer goals, the two groups felt that such systems are compatible but how it is implemented is slightly different (i.e. based on contracts rather than the sale of heifers to rearing units). The Swiss method of selling the heifers to the finishing unit and then buying them back just before calving appealed to some Welsh farmers as they felt it spread the risk associated with a TB outbreak. Dairy farmers in Spain were reluctant to relinquish control of their heifer rearing but agreed that ewe lamb rearing on specialised units could be a good thing.

Policy Issues

In both countries national control measures for TB make the movement of animals difficult at times, though this was not necessarily seen as a bad thing in terms of trying to control the disease.

Recap chart