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March, 2015
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Dear Readers,
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We are pleased to send you the first agri benchmark Beef and Sheep Newsletter in 2015. This newsletter presents links to first results of our silvopastoral project and an analysis of the situation of cow-calf production in Germany. Furthermore it informs about two new partners and our new farm profiles.
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We hope you enjoy reading!
Claus Deblitz
Coordinator of the agri benchmark Beef and Sheep Network
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Triple win situation through silvopastoral systems
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First results of an international joint project on intensive silvopastoral farming systems in Colombia show a triple win situation compared with traditional cattle ranching systems.
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| Running silvopastoral farming systems yields to higher productivity and profitability, better environmental management and simultaneous health and welfare benefits for animals. The project is supported by the NGO World Animal Protection; the CIPAV (Centre for Research on Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems); FEDEGAN; and agri benchmark. The results, presented by Ernesto Reyes at the 5th multi-stakeholder platform meeting of the Global Agenda for Sustainable Livestock in October 2014, illustrate the advantages of silvopastoral farming determined in the project. The meeting was attended by 165 participants from 32 countries.
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| » Comprehensive analysis of intensive silvopastoral systems in Colombia (case studies)
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| World Animal Protection also presented similar outcomes of a case study examining three silvopastoral beef and dairy farms in Colombia in the same conference. The case study was jointly conducted by World Animal Protection (animal welfare), CIPAV (environment) and agri benchmark (production systems and productivity, investments, economics). Results are presented in a short documentary film.
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| » Briefing document: Milk and beef production in Colombia
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| » Documentary film by World Animal Protection
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Is there a future for the cow-calf production in Germany?
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An overview of the cow-calf sector in Germany, the numbers of cows, their spatial distribution and development over time are offered by Linda Stolz, a university student at Hohenheim, in her master’s thesis: ‘Cow-calf production in Germany - status quo and perspectives in the European context.
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| Linda conducted an economic analysis comparing Germany with other selected European countries and analysed the impact of the latest CAP reform on typical cow-calf farms in Europe. She used a survey to collect and evaluate information and data on the different production systems.
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» Mutterkuhhaltung in Deutschland - Status quo und Zukunftsperpektiven im europäischen Kontext
Full Version (in German)
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» Cow-calf production in Germany - status quo and perspectives in the European context
Summary (in English)
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Analysis of CAP reform in Europe
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| ‘The outcomes of the CAP reform for cow-calf producers from different European countries vary widely depending on the settings in the previous situation and the particular national implementation’. This is just one result of an analysis of the CAP reform, where eighteen cow-calf farms from eight European countries have been analysed.
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| » Slide collection: CAP reform in Europe
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New farm profiles available now
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Where are the typical farms located? What breeds are used? And how many family members work on the farm? These and other questions are answered in the farm profiles, which can be downloaded for free from the agri benchmark homepage.
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| More information regarding animal performance, herd management, feeding and the economic situation on typical farms is available in the partner section of the website.
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| » Farm Profiles
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Is TTIP a threat to EU beef production?
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“The total impact of a free trade agreement on beef production in the EU appears rather limited.”
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| This is one outcome of a contribution in the DLG Newsletter analysing competitiveness and likely perspectives of production and trade in case of a possible tariff liberalisation between the EU and the US.
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| » Is the TTIP a threat to EU beef production?
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Environment and animal protection - too expensive for producers?
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Legislation on environment, food safety and animal welfare is often quoted as cost driver for agricultural production, thus reducing international competitiveness.
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| The project ‘Assessing farmers' costs of compliance with EU legislation in the fields of environment, animal welfare and food safety’ assessed the additional costs (and possible benefits) of these regulations in selected EU-member states and relevant non-EU competitors for several product branches including beef and sheep meat. The results for the beef and sheep sectors are:
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- Costs of compliance for farms between 0.5% and 3% (beef) respectively 0.5% and 3.5% (sheep) of the total costs in the selected EU Member States
- Production costs for beef meat differ significantly between EU Member States (France, Italy and United Kingdom) and third countries (Argentina and Brazil) while compliance with EU legislation does not worsen EU farmers’ competitiveness on the world market
- Higher production costs for sheep meat in EU countries (France and United Kingdom) compared to Australia and New Zealand are due to higher feed costs, smaller herd size and lower labour productivity; cost of compliance have only a limited impact
- Despite the relatively low proportion of compliance costs in total costs, their impact can make the difference between profit and loss in case of low margins.
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| » To which extent are EU and non-EU producers affected by legal regulations and how does this impact on their competitiveness?
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| » The full report can be downloaded on the website of the European Commission
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Did you know?
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| In this section you find short information in regular intervals on particularities of production, sector, policy or trade in agri benchmark member countries.
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Education for cattle producers – a successful mentorship programme in Namibia
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| The eight northern regions of Namibia have 1.4 million cattle and they are considered to be the major source of Namibia’s livestock industry. But they contribute less than 10% of the country’s livestock export earnings. Therefore an education programme for cattle producers was established.
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| » Read more
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