Press Releases

Farm Business Survey results published – University of Reading

Release Date : 01 November 2004

The University's Agriculture and Food Investigation Team (AFIT) has now published its Farm Business Survey Financial Results for Harvest Years 2002 and 2003. Reading contributes approximately 360 whole-farm accounts which are processed annually to provide income, management and research data. The data can be viewed online at http://www.apd.rdg.ac.uk/AgEcon/research/afit/data/Web-Release-FBD-2005.pdf. A comprehensive report on the results will appear in Farm Business Data 2005, due for publication in December 2004. Reading's AFIT is one of nine in England and Wales which undertakes, annually, farm business surveys that are commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The team is responsible for this work in the counties of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, part of Greater London, Gloucestershire (excl. South), Hampshire, Herefordshire, the Isle of Wight, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, the West Midlands, Wiltshire and Worcestershire. In addition to the core work for DEFRA, the team participates in other research surveys within the ancillary organisations of the agricultural industry, as well as dealing with a wide range of queries from both inside and outside of the University. The work undertaken for DEFRA consists of annual contributions to the National Farm Business Survey (FBS) and the European Commission Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN), and an involvement each year with other studies which form part of the national series of Special Studies (SS) in England and Wales. The investigation officers are responsible for all of the data collection and its analysis, together with much of the work done to prepare reports. They are supported by a clerical officer. The management team responsible to the Head of Department, Professor Bruce Traill, for running the AFIT operation is led by Rod Vaughan and assisted by Senior Investigation Officer John Wright, with part time research support from Dr Abigail Tiffin. Professor Bruce Traill acts in a consultancy capacity as Academic Adviser to the team. The Department continues to be well represented on the national committees responsible for the design and conduct of this work. Professor Traill is a member of the Commissioned Work Management Committee (CWMC), Mr Vaughan serves on the Farm Business Survey Sub-Committee (FBSSC) and Mr Wright on the Special Studies Sub-Committee (SSSC). In addition, other individual members of the team are involved, on an ad-hoc basis, in planning groups associated with the work undertaken for DEFRA and others. end For more information on the results please contact: Rod Vaughan 0118 378 8960 r.l.vaughan@rdg.ac.uk John Wright 0118 378 8961 j.wright@rdg.ac.uk