Environment and Countryside Management: Results from the Farm Business Survey

These results cover which environmental activities are being carried out and the reasons for doing so. They also cover the area of various habitats found on farms. Source agency: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Designation: National Statistics Language: English Alternative title: Environment and Countryside Management: Results from the Farm Business Survey Countryside Maintenance and Management in England 2010/11 The latest statistics produced by Defra on Countryside Maintenance and Management Activities (CMMA) were released on 28 June 2012 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority. The release shows final estimates for countryside maintenance and management activities on farms in England. These are sourced from the 2010/11 Farm Business Survey (FBS) which covers the 2010 harvest and can be accessed via the link below. This workbook provides tables of data used in the release or to create charts used in the release. In addition there is further data from the survey that was not used in the release. Link to main release http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/envcountryman/ Background to the Survey Countryside and agri-environment practices have become increasingly important in English agriculture. Whilst many farmers have always been aware of the habitats on and around their farms, the reforms in government payments to farmers have ensured that nearly all farmers now need to consider these issues. In particular, the concept of ‘cross-compliance’ introduced in 2005 alongside the Single Payment Scheme means that most farmers have to follow basic environmental standards. There are a number of potential sources of data on the management practices adopted by farmers to protect and enhance the environment. Questions on these issues were included in the Farm Business Survey (FBS) for the first time in the 2005/06 survey. The FBS is an interview survey specifically aimed at collecting accounting information, and allows the inclusion of more complex questions. By using the FBS, relationships between countryside maintenance and management activities and farm type, size, profitability and location can be explored. The countryside maintenance and management module was repeated in 2006/07 and in 2008/09 was expanded to give a more detailed picture of activities being carried out. For the 2010/11 survey the module was further expanded to include questions on the Campaign for the Farmed Environment (CFE), results from which were published on 16th February 2012 here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/envcountryman/ Information on countryside maintenance and management activities is important in helping to understand what famers are doing to protect and enhance the environment and their reasons for doing so; which in turn can help shape policy decisions. It is important, for example, in the context of structural change and CAP reform, including issues surrounding the balance between Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 payments. The results from this module will also inform the planning of the next Rural Development Programme, in particular the agri-environment measures. The information will also feed into wider research examining competitiveness of the farming industry, e.g. any links between agricultural performance and countryside maintenance and management activities. Survey Methodology The results provided in this release are from the questions relating to Countryside Maintenance and Management Activities (CMMA) which were included in the 2010/11 FBS campaign. The questions were asked during the period January to September 2011 The FBS is an annual survey providing information on the financial position and physical and economic performance of farm businesses in England. The sample of around 1,900 farm businesses covers all regions of England and all types of farming with the data being collected by face to face interview with the farmer. Results are weighted to represent the whole population of farm businesses that have at least 25,000 Euros of standard output as recorded in the annual June Survey of Agriculture and Horticulture. In 2010 there were just over 56,000 farm businesses meeting this criteria. For the 2010/11 FBS, an additional countryside maintenance and management ‘module’ was included to collect areas of land under various environmental activities and the associated costs of managing this land. Only those farms in the FBS which were managing the land in a positive manner were eligible to complete the module (henceforth referred to as eligible farms). Positive management was defined as any land management measures or activities that deliver a positive environmental outcome. Details of the questions asked can be found here: http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/aboutfbs/datacollection/forms/ For further information about the Farm Business Survey please see: http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/ Data analysis As stated above, the results from the FBS relate to farms which have a standard output of at least 25,000 Euros. Initial weights are applied to the FBS records based on the inverse sampling fraction. These weights are then adjusted (calibration weighting) so that they can produce unbiased estimators of a number of different target variables. As detailed in the Survey Methodology section above, the countryside maintenance and management module was a voluntary addition to the main FBS commitment and achieved a response rate of 77% for eligible farms. In order to take account of non-response, the results have been reweighted using a method that preserves marginal totals for populations according to farm type, farm size groups and agri-environment scheme membership. The results have been further restricted to relate only to the population of eligible farms i.e. those managing some of their land in a positive manner. Comparisons between 2008/09 and 2010/11 Results from the 2008/09 and 2010/11 countryside maintenance and management modules are not directly comparable due to changes in the coverage of the survey and changes in the classification of farms for the 2010/11 campaign. In 2010/11 the survey was restricted to include farms which have a least 25,000 Euros of standard output; prior to this the survey was restricted to farms with ½ Standard Labour Requirement or more. The classification of farms into farm types was also revised for the 2010/11 Farm Business Survey, to bring the classification in line with European guidelines. Equivalent results from 2008/09 have been presented alongside 2010/11 results in many of the charts and tables; however comparisons should be treated with extreme caution due to the reasons given above. To enable more robust comparisons between the 2008/09 and 2010/11 countryside maintenance and management modules to be reported, we have examined the subset of farms that participated and have some form of activity in both years (approximately 900 farms). For all analyses we have used the farm type, farm size and tenure groups as defined on the 2010/11 dataset. For this subset of farms we have carried out significance testing using the Wilcoxon signed rank test to determine whether the differences observed between the two time periods are statistically significant. Where a statistically significant difference has been observed this has been indicated on the tables and charts for the full module results with a *. Commentary alongside the charts and tables will refer to this analysis rather than make comparisons with the 2008/09 data displayed. Accuracy and reliability of the results Where possible, relative standard error (RSE) and 95% confidence intervals have been shown in the tables. RSE is derived from the standard error, which is a measure of the variation in the data. Typically, large estimates also have large standard errors. The standard error divided by the estimated total gives the RSE. This is expressed as a percentage and is easier to interpret than the standard error. Low RSEs indicate greater reliability in the figures, whereas estimates with high RSEs should be treated with caution. 95% confidence intervals show the range of values that may apply to the figures. They mean that we are 95% confident that the true value lies within this range either side of the estimate. They are calculated as the standard errors (se) multiplied by 1.96 to give the 95% confidence interval (95% CI). The standard errors only give an indication of the sampling error. They do not reflect any other sources of survey errors, such as non-response bias. The confidence limits shown are appropriate for comparing groups within the same year; they should not be used for comparing 2010/11 results with those from 2008/09 since they do not allow for the fact that many of the same farms contributed to both surveys. Estimates based on less than 5 observations have been suppressed to prevent disclosure of the identity of the contributing farms. Estimates based on less than 15 observations have been highlighted in italics in the tables and should be treated with caution as they are likely to be less precise. Availability of results Defra statistical notices can be viewed on the Food and Farming Statistics pages on the Defra website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/. This site also shows details of future publications, with pre-announced dates. Other publications Results from the 2010/11 FBS: http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/farmaccounts/ Provisional estimates of farm business income for 2011/12: http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/fbsincomes/ Campaign for the Farmed Environment, Results from the Farm Business Survey 2010/11: http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/envcountryman/ Definitions Countryside maintenance and management activities The countryside maintenance and management section of the FBS recorded a variety of data for 28 specific activities. For Tables 6 and 7 and Figures 10 and 11 these activities were grouped according to their equivalent agri-environment scheme options from the Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) and Organic Entry Level Stewardship. Details of the schemes can be found in Section 3 of the Entry Level Stewardship Environmental Stewardship Handbook, available for download at: http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/30034?category=45001 Cost of Countryside maintenance and management activities The costs charged against CMMA for the purpose of this analysis are the total of nine individual costs recorded against each managed feature. These are: Variable costs Paid labour costs Unpaid labour costs Machinery costs Contracting costs Farmer & spouse labour Capital costs Capital grants Property repairs, maintenance & upkeep Size of farm businesses Farm business size in the United Kingdom is measured in Standard Labour Requirements (SLR) expressed in terms of full-time equivalents (FTE). Five size groups are defined for this report: Spare-time (less than or equal to 0.5 FTE) Part-time (greater than 0.5 FTE and less than 1.0) Small (greater than or equal to 1 FTE and less than 2) Medium (greater than or equal to 2 FTE and less than 3) Large (greater than or equal to 3 FTE and less than 5) Very large (greater than or equal to 5 FTE) If you require the datasets in a more accessible format, please contact [e-mail]本结果涵盖当前开展的各类环境活动及其实施动因，同时覆盖农场内各类生境的分布面积情况。 发布机构：环境、食品与农村事务部（Environment, Food and Rural Affairs，简称Defra） 官方统计资质：国家统计级数据 语言：英语 备选标题：《环境与乡村管理：农场商业调查结果》 2010/11年度英格兰乡村维护与管理情况 本数据集由环境、食品与农村事务部（Defra）编制的最新乡村维护与管理活动（Countryside Maintenance and Management Activities, CMMA）统计数据，已于2012年6月28日按照英国统计署（UK Statistics Authority）批准的流程正式发布。本次发布内容涵盖英格兰农场乡村维护与管理活动的最终估算结果，数据源自覆盖2010年收获季的2010/11年度农场商业调查（Farm Business Survey, FBS），可通过下述链接获取。本数据手册收录了本次发布报告及配套图表所使用的数据表格，同时包含本次调查中未纳入本次发布的额外数据。 主发布链接：http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/envcountryman/ 调查背景 乡村与农业环境实践在英格兰农业中的重要性与日俱增。尽管多数农户早已熟知其农场内外的生境状况，但政府针对农户的支付改革使得几乎所有农户都必须考量此类问题。尤其是2005年随单一支付方案（Single Payment Scheme）一同推行的“交叉合规”（cross-compliance）概念，要求绝大多数农户遵守基础环境标准。 目前已有多种可用于获取农户环境保护与环境提升管理实践数据的潜在渠道。相关议题的调查问卷首次于2005/06年度农场商业调查中纳入。FBS是一项专门用于收集会计信息的访谈式调查，可容纳更复杂的问卷内容。通过FBS数据，可探究乡村维护与管理活动与农场类型、规模、盈利能力及区位之间的关联。乡村维护与管理模块于2006/07年度重复使用，并在2008/09年度进行了扩展，以更细致地呈现当前开展的各类活动。2010/11年度的调查中，该模块进一步扩展，新增了针对农场环境运动（Campaign for the Farmed Environment, CFE）的相关问题，其结果已于2012年2月16日发布，链接如下： http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/envcountryman/ 乡村维护与管理活动相关信息对于理解农户开展环境保护与环境提升工作的举措及动因至关重要，进而可为政策制定提供参考。例如，在结构改革与共同农业政策（CAP）改革的背景下，包括第一支柱与第二支柱支付平衡相关议题，此类信息都具有重要价值。本模块的调查结果还将为下一轮乡村发展计划的规划提供依据，尤其是农业环境措施相关规划。此外，该信息还将用于更广泛的农业行业竞争力研究，例如农业绩效与乡村维护和管理活动之间的关联分析。 调查方法 本次发布的结果源自2010/11年度FBS调查中纳入的乡村维护与管理活动（CMMA）相关问题。问卷调研于2011年1月至9月期间开展。 FBS是一项年度调查，用于收集英格兰农场商业的财务状况、实体与经济运营表现相关信息。本次调查样本涵盖约1900家农场商业主体，覆盖英格兰所有区域与各类农场类型，数据通过与农户面对面访谈的方式收集。调查结果经过加权处理，以代表所有至少达到25000欧元标准产出的农场商业总体，该总体规模基于年度6月农业与园艺调查数据确定。2010年，符合该标准的农场商业主体共计约56000家。 针对2010/11年度FBS，额外增设了乡村维护与管理“模块”，用于收集各类环境活动涉及的土地面积及相关土地管理成本。仅FBS中对土地实施积极管理的农场方可参与该模块调查（以下简称合格农场）。积极管理的定义为：可产生积极环境效益的任何土地管理措施或活动。相关问卷详情可参阅下述链接： http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/aboutfbs/datacollection/forms/ 如需进一步了解农场商业调查，请访问：http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/ 数据分析 如前文所述，本次FBS结果仅针对标准产出至少达到25000欧元的农场。首先基于抽样逆分数对FBS记录进行初始加权，随后对权重进行调整（校准加权），以确保可对多个不同目标变量生成无偏估计量。如前文调查方法章节所述，乡村维护与管理模块是主FBS调查之外的自愿附加模块，合格农场的有效回收率为77%。为抵消无应答带来的偏差，本次结果采用保留农场类型、农场规模分组及农业环境计划参与度总体边际总数的方法进行重新加权。本次结果进一步限定仅针对合格农场总体，即对部分土地实施积极管理的农场。 2008/09年度与2010/11年度数据对比 由于2010/11年度调查的覆盖范围发生调整，以及农场分类标准出现变更，2008/09年度与2010/11年度的乡村维护与管理模块结果无法直接对比。2010/11年度的调查限定仅纳入标准产出至少达到25000欧元的农场；而此前的调查限定仅纳入标准劳动需求（Standard Labour Requirement, SLR）达到0.5及以上的农场。同时2010/11年度农场商业调查对农场类型分类标准进行了修订，以契合欧盟相关指南。尽管多数图表与表格同时呈现了2008/09年度的等效结果与2010/11年度结果，但鉴于上述原因，进行此类对比时需格外谨慎。 为实现2008/09年度与2010/11年度乡村维护与管理模块结果的更稳健对比，本次分析选取了两个年度均参与调查且开展了至少一项相关活动的农场子集（约900家）。所有分析均采用2010/11年度数据集所定义的农场类型、农场规模及保有分组。针对该子集农场，我们采用Wilcoxon符号秩检验进行显著性检验，以确定两个时段间观测到的差异是否具有统计学显著性。若存在统计学显著性差异，将在全模块结果的表格与图表中以*标记。图表与表格旁的注释将参考该分析结果，而非与展示的2008/09年度数据进行直接对比。 结果的准确性与可靠性 若条件允许，表格中已标注相对标准误差（Relative Standard Error, RSE）与95%置信区间。相对标准误差由标准误差推导而来，标准误差用于衡量数据的离散程度。通常而言，较大的估算值同时伴随较大的标准误差。标准误差除以估算总值即可得到相对标准误差，以百分比形式呈现，相比标准误差更易于解读。较低的RSE代表数据可靠性更高，而RSE较高的估算值需谨慎使用。 95%置信区间展示了估算值可能的取值范围，即我们有95%的把握认为真实值落在估算值两侧的该区间内。其计算方式为标准误差（se）乘以1.96，得到95%置信区间（95% CI）。标准误差仅能反映抽样误差，无法体现其他调查误差来源，例如无应答偏差。本次展示的置信限适用于同一年度内不同组别的对比，不可用于2010/11年度与2008/09年度结果的对比，因为该置信区间未考虑到部分农场同时参与了两次调查的情况。 基于少于5个观测值的估算结果已被隐去，以避免泄露参与农场的身份信息。基于少于15个观测值的估算结果已在表格中以斜体标注，需谨慎使用，因为此类结果的精度相对较低。 结果获取途径 Defra统计公告可通过Defra官网的食品与农业统计页面查阅，网址为http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/。该站点同时公布了未来出版物的预发布日期。 其他出版物 2010/11年度FBS结果： http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/farmaccounts/ 2011/12年度农场商业收入临时估算： http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/fbsincomes/ 农场环境运动：2010/11年度农场商业调查结果： http://www.defra.gov.uk/statistics/foodfarm/farmmanage/fbs/publications/envcountryman/ 术语定义 乡村维护与管理活动 FBS的乡村维护与管理部分收录了28项特定活动的各类数据。针对表格6、7及图10、11，这些活动按照其等效的农业环境计划选项进行分组，涵盖入门级管理计划（Entry Level Stewardship, ELS）与有机入门级管理计划（Organic Entry Level Stewardship）。相关计划详情可参阅《入门级管理计划环境管理手册》第3章节，可从下述链接下载： http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/30034?category=45001 乡村维护与管理活动成本 本分析中针对CMMA核算的成本为针对每个管理特征记录的9项独立成本总和，具体包括： 可变成本 有偿劳动力成本 无偿劳动力成本 机械设备成本 外包服务成本 农户及配偶劳动力成本 资本成本 资本补贴 物业修缮、维护与保养 农场商业主体规模 英国的农场商业规模以标准劳动需求（Standard Labour Requirement, SLR）衡量，以全职当量（Full-time Equivalents, FTE）为单位。本报告划分了5个规模组别： 休闲型（≤0.5 FTE） 兼职型（>0.5 FTE且<1.0 FTE） 小型（≥1 FTE且<2 FTE） 中型（≥2 FTE且<3 FTE） 大型（≥3 FTE且<5 FTE） 特大型（≥5 FTE） 如需获取更易读取格式的数据集，请发送邮件至[e-mail]进行咨询。