Making things work – on the farm and on the balance sheet

Making things work – on the farm and on the balance sheet

There is a lot to like about organic farming. All going well, organic practices will enhance soil, plant, animal and human health. But what about profits? That’s where the Organic Farm Management Handbook comes in. “Good decisions need to be based on more than back of the envelope calculations that only consider headline prices”. Colour coded sections allow easy and fast access to information on crop production, arable crop margins, vegetable and horticulture gross margins and, in section 9, forage crops and green manures which not only are “the cornerstone of organic crop rotations” but also “can be used profitably by livestock”. Several tables specify variable costs - from permanent grassland to leys and grassland or undersown forage. Most chapters end with a ‘further reading’ section which in this instance include a number of websites and technical guides.

This segues nicely into the next section on livestock production. “Livestock are integral to most organic farming systems, particularly those with permanent pasture and ley/arable rotations. (...) Ruminant livestock are able to utilise and provide a financial return to the leys with legumes and other herbage species that contribute to nitrogen fixation and the fertility-building phase of the rotation. They can utilise cellulose and hence energy from herbage that would not otherwise be available for human consumption and the return of livestock manures provides a targeted nutrient source for subsequent crops”. Several tables provide information on ‘livestock feed nutritional value and prices’ and ‘sample rations for dairy cows’ as well as concise paragraphs on topics such as foot problems and parasites.

Known unknowns and unknown unknowns

Things are complicated, the Organic Farm Management Handbook acknowledges that from the first page. A number of factors such as the Ukraine war, Brexit and the cost of living crisis make it harder to predict profitability. Add to that the fact that the circumstances of each and every farm are different and, unlike in conventional agriculture, there are few data. “One of the key barriers is the lack of current information on the costs and business performance of organic farms and related management issues that is vital to anyone contemplating the seismic shift to organic farming. The purpose of this handbook is to address this gap”. The information provided hopefully will allow farmers and farm advisors to make better decisions and choices. 

Organic production...

The ‘Certification’ chapter spells out the benefits of what can be a fairly costly process: apart from the application fee, there are also the costs for annual audits. On the plus side: “Organic farming is recognised and regulated globally. in 2022, 74 countries had fully implemented regulations on organic agriculture”. The handbook provides contact details of relevant organisations in different parts of the UK and Ireland, online resources including training and funding opportunities and a step by step guide laying out the different phases and what to expect.

More general information on membership organisations, advice, research and training has been compiled in section 15 which mitigates the fact that the index could be more comprehensive. The best way to navigate the handbook is the detailed colour coded table of contents.

...and market woes.

Organic produce mostly carries a substantial premium – if you have market access and there are enough customers able and willing to pay a better price.

The handbook gives a good overview of the EU organic market where the value of organic sales doubled between 2012 and 2021 and the official target is to have 25% of land farmed organically by 2030. Nevertheless, the future might not be as rosy: “Trends in the European Market for 2022 overall are expected to show stagnation or even decline, making 2023 and beyond difficult to predict.” 

While many EU countries have specialist organic shops that stock the product range of a supermarket, the UK has very few such outlets. According to the handbook, 61.8% of organic sales are made through supermarkets. Getting your produce on the shelves there is tough. “Producers should also be prepared for further rationalisation of the supply base as supermarkets aim to consolidate the number of product lines they stock to improve efficiency”.

Since the pandemic, the demand for box schemes and online sales has grown. And the handbook is vaguely hopeful: “New enterprises that offer solutions for software and logistics open-up possibilities for an easier online market entry for farmers and simplify the management and administration significantly”. 

And there is another hurdle organic producers in the UK and Northern Ireland have to overcome: “According to Defra, the number of processors has decreased over the last ten years”. In particular for beef farmers, problems have stacked up. “In 2022, a considerable number of organic beef farmers reverted to non-organic farming primarily due to high feed costs”.

Reality and realistic choices

Clear-eyed assessments such as this, combined with production figures and a wealth of additional resources that make the Organic Farm Management Handbook valuable not just to organic farmers. There is a big overlap between regenerative agriculture, agroecology and organic farm practices and for farmers, managers and advisers who employ these methods but do not have or want organic certification the information the handbook provides is still likely to be very useful.

Organic Farm Management Handbook 2023, 12th edition 

Editors: Nic Lampkin, Mark Measures and Susanne Padel 

Organic Research Centre

ISBN 978-1-3999-6622-1

https://www.organicresearchcentre.com/resources/the-organic-farm-management-handbook