The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
‘Staying alert to change key to surviving Brexit’
Event: Monitoring livestock health and finances highlighted at conference
Scottish livestock producers need to develop their business skills alongside adopting new animal health strategies to ensure their businesses can survive Brexit.
Professor Sandy Trees, a cross bench member of the House of Lords, said developments in animal science and applying that knowledge on farms was vital to driving productivity in UK livestock businesses.
But he said efforts to improve livestock disease management would only be fully realised if they were accompanied by improved farm business skills.
Speaking at the N8 Agrifood conference in Liverpool yesterday, Lord Trees – who is also a professor of veterinary parasitology – said Brexit would undoubtedly create challenges for producers, and it was important they were as prepared as they could be for any changes.
With animal health key to food productivity and livestock farm sustainability, being prepared to adopt new techniques and strategies to tackle animal disease was key, he said.
However that had to work hand-in-hand with understanding how successful their farm’s management was – something some businesses had failed to do.
“Research has indicated that many farmers in the livestock sector are ignorant of their costs of production and levels of
“There’s a danger of the race to the bottom”
efficiency,” he said during his keynote speech to conference.
“We need to do more in terms of disease management, but it’s also about business skills and management.
“In that respect, benchmarking is highly important so farmers can see how they directly compare with those in their peer groups: it’s a powerful changer of behaviour.”
While there was need to change on-farm, Lord Trees also stressed the need for government to show its support to UK agriculture in terms of post-Brexit legislation and funding.
This was important where there were ‘legislation gaps’ between domestic and EU laws, particularly around environmental protection and animal welfare. “There’s tension in maintaining high standards in environmental and animal welfare standards, and the desire for cheap food,” he said.
“If we don’t look at it carefully there’s a danger of the race to the bottom. The government says it has an aspiration to enhance and maintain welfare, but deeds are stronger than words.”
Particularly important will be finding ways to share information, funding innovations in science and animal welfare, and targeting payments to help farmers make those improvements.
Putting more emphasis on food production as a public good was also vital, he said. “There’s a huge revolution coming that isn’t entirely due to Brexit,” he added.
“There are underlying issues that need attention, and Brexit is forcing us to change the way we do things. I hope that in the long-run, some of these changes will be positive.”