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The impact of CAP reform on farmers' plans for the future: Some evidence from South West England

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  • Lobley, Matt
  • Butler, Allan

Abstract

This paper considers farmer intentions following the implementation of the 2003 CAP reforms, identifies the extent to which these plans have been influenced by the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS) in 2005 and considers the implications in terms of likely structural change (i.e. changes in the deployment of land, labour and capital). The analysis uses data from a large sample survey of farmers in South West England and the results indicate that CAP reform is not stimulating rapid agricultural restructuring, rather it appears to be reinforcing many existing trends towards diversification and an increasing polarisation between the largest and smallest farms. CAP reform is impacting unevenly on the farm community and different farming situations are associated with different types of reaction. Market signals may become a more powerful driver of farmer behaviour, in which case the 2003 reforms will have proved successful in providing farmers the freedom to farm without coupled subsidies. On the basis of the results presented in this paper though, only a minority of farmers seem both well placed and well disposed to exploit such opportunities.

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  • Lobley, Matt & Butler, Allan, 2010. "The impact of CAP reform on farmers' plans for the future: Some evidence from South West England," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 341-348, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:jfpoli:v:35:y:2010:i:4:p:341-348
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    7. Latruffe, Laure & Dupuy, Aurélia & Desjeux, Yann, 2012. "What would farmers’ strategies be in a no-CAP situation? An illustration from France," Working Papers 207987, Institut National de la recherche Agronomique (INRA), Departement Sciences Sociales, Agriculture et Alimentation, Espace et Environnement (SAE2).
    8. Arnott, David & Chadwick, David R. & Wynne-Jones, Sophie & Jones, David L., 2021. "Vulnerability of British farms to post-Brexit subsidy removal, and implications for intensification, extensification and land sparing," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
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    11. Peter Howley & Emma Dillon, 2012. "Factors affecting the level of farm indebtedness: the role of farming attitudes," Working Papers 1201, Rural Economy and Development Programme,Teagasc.
    12. Demirdogen, Alper & Olhan, Emine, 2018. "The Timing Impact of Agricultural Support Policies on Farmers’ Stated Intentions in Turkey," 162nd Seminar, April 26-27, 2018, Budapest, Hungary 271960, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
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    14. Larcher, Manuela & Engelhart, Reinhard & Vogel, Stefan, 2019. "Agricultural Professionalization of Austrian Family Farm Households the Effects of Vocational Attitude, Social Capital and Perception of Farm Situation," German Journal of Agricultural Economics, Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin, Department for Agricultural Economics, vol. 68(1), March.
    15. Glithero, N.J. & Ramsden, S.J. & Wilson, P., 2013. "Barriers and incentives to the production of bioethanol from cereal straw: A farm business perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 161-171.
    16. Urban, Kirsten & Jensen, Hans Grinsted & Brockmeier, Martina, 2012. "How Decoupled is the SFP in GTAP: Using a Sensitivity Analysis to Uncover the Degree of Coupling," Conference papers 332173, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    17. Townsend, T.J. & Sparkes, D.L. & Ramsden, S.J. & Glithero, N.J. & Wilson, P., 2018. "Wheat straw availability for bioenergy in England," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 349-357.
    18. Howley, Peter & Breen, James P. & Donoghue, Cathal O. & Hennessy, Thia, 2012. "Does the single farm payment affect farmers’ behaviour? A macro and micro analysis," International Journal of Agricultural Management, Institute of Agricultural Management, vol. 2(1), pages 1-8, October.
    19. Piotr Bórawski & Adam Pawlewicz & Andrzej Parzonko & Jayson, K. Harper & Lisa Holden, 2020. "Factors Shaping Cow’s Milk Production in the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, January.
    20. Claire Jack & Austen Ashfield & Adewale Henry Adenuga & Conall Mullan, 2021. "Farm Diversification: Drivers, Barriers and Future Growth Potential," EuroChoices, The Agricultural Economics Society, vol. 20(2), pages 70-75, August.
    21. Theodoros MARKOPOULOS & Christos KARELAKIS & Konstantinos GALANOPOULOS & Konstadinos MATTAS, 2015. "Did The 2004 Cap Reform Affect Production Practices Of Cereals? Insights From The Agricultural Input Suppliers," Scientific Bulletin - Economic Sciences, University of Pitesti, vol. 14(2), pages 71-83.

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