Three tenets of sustainable intensification should guide the fourth agricultural revolution: people, production, and the planet. Thus far, narratives of agriculture 4.0 have been predominately framed in terms of benefits to productivity and the environment with little attention placed on social sustainability. This is despite the fact that agriculture 4.0 has significant social implications, both potentially positive and negative. Our viewpoint highlights the need to incorporate social sustainability (or simply ‘people’) into technological trajectories and we outline a framework of multi-actor co-innovation to guide responsible socio-technical transitions. Through the greater inclusion of people in agricultural innovation systems guided by responsible innovation principles, we can increase the likelihood of this technology revolution achieving social sustainability alongside benefiting production and the environment.

Non-technical summary Until the past half-century, all agriculture and land management was framed by local institutions strong in social capital. But neoliberal forms of development came to undermine existing structures, thus reducing sustainability and equity. The past 20 years, though, have seen the deliberate establishment of more than 8 million new social groups across the world. This restructuring and growth of rural social capital within specific territories is leading to increased productivity of agricultural and land management systems, with particular benefits for those previously excluded. Further growth would occur with more national and regional policy support. Technical summary for agriculture and land management to improve natural capital over whole landscapes, social cooperation has long been required. The political economy of the later twentieth and early twenty-first centuries prioritized unfettered individual action over the collective, and many rural institutions were harmed or destroyed. Since then, a wide range of social movements, networks and federations have emerged to support transitions towards sustainability and equity. Here, we focus on social capital manifested as intentionally formed collaborative groups within specific geographic territories. These groups focus on: (1) integrated pest management; (2) forests; (3) land; (4) water; (5) pastures; (6) support services; (7) innovation platforms; and (8) small-scale systems. We show across 122 initiatives in 55 countries that the number of groups has grown from 0.50 million (in 2000) to 8.54 million (in 2020). The area of land transformed by the 170–255 million group members is 300 Mha, mostly in less-developed countries (98% groups; 94% area). Farmers and land managers working with scientists and extensionists in these groups have improved both environmental outcomes and agricultural productivity. In some cases, changes to national or regional policy supported this growth in groups. Together with other movements, these social groups could now support further transitions towards policies and behaviours for global sustainability. Social media summary Millions of geographically based new social groups are leading to more sustainable agriculture and forestry worldwide.

Although the effects of public austerity have been the subject of a significant literature in recent years, the changing role of the state as a partner in collaborative environmental governance under austerity has received less attention. By employing theories of collaborative governance and state retreat, this paper used a qualitative research design comprised of thirty-two semi-structured interviews within the case study UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in the United Kingdom to address this lacuna. Participants perceived that the austerity period has precipitated negative changes to their extant state-orientated funding regime, which had compelled changes to their organisational structure. Austerity damaged their relationships with the state and perceptions of state legitimacy whilst simultaneously strengthening and straining the relationships between intra-partnership non-state governance actors. This case offers a critical contemporary reflection on normative collaborative environmental governance theory under austerity programmes. These open up questions about the role of the state in wider sustainability transitions.

Globally, the contribution of own-growers' to food security is over-looked.We explore a novel temperate, own-growing, agroforestry method that originates from Britain; the forest garden. Inspired by ancient tropical multi-layered homegardens, forest gardens integrate nature and food production. Consequently, they have spread globally despitebeing little researched. We sub-sampled 51 British forest gardens described as: Mature (≥15 years old), Young (≤10 years old) or Mixed (Young forest garden with an experienced manager). Using a semi-structured telephone questionnaire, we characterise forest gardens as: diverse food systems containing on average 64.2 (±6.65) predominantly perennial plant species; spread over at least four layers. Typically, they are ≤0.8 ha; on sloping, low value agricultural land. Forest gardeners are principally motivated by environmental protection and a lifestyle that enhances well-being. Their diet is broadened by foraging wild plants and common garden species, considered a delicacy in other cultures; thereby reducing their reliance on environmentally challenging annual crops. Forest gardens, like homegardens, could deliver social, economic and environmental benefits. They also illustrate that exploring ancient cultures and techniques can provide ideas and solutions to our modern food conundrums. However, combing a holistic academic approach with forest and homegarden practitioner knowledge will enhance our understanding of their alternative crops.

Decision support tools, usually considered to be software-based, may be an important part of the quest for evidence-based decision-making in agriculture to improve productivity and environmental outputs. These tools can lead users through clear steps and suggest optimal decision paths or may act more as information sources to improve the evidence base for decisions. Yet, despite their availability in a wide range of formats, studies in several countries have shown uptake to be disappointingly low. This paper uses a mixed methods approach to investigate the factors affecting the uptake and use of decision support tools by farmers and advisers in the UK. Through a combination of qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys, we found that fifteen factors are influential in convincing farmers and advisers to use decision support tools, which include usability, cost-effectiveness, performance, relevance to user, and compatibility with compliance demands. This study finds a plethora of agricultural decision support tools in operation in the UK, yet, like other studies, shows that their uptake is low. A better understanding of the fifteen factors identified should lead to more effective design and delivery of tools in the future.

Dairy farming generates large volumes of liquid manure (slurry), which is ultimately recycled to agricultural land as a valuable source of plant nutrients. Different methods of slurry application to land exist; some spread the slurry to the sward surface whereas others deliver the slurry under the sward and into the soil, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of two slurry application methods (surface broadcast versus shallow injection) on the survival of faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) delivered via dairy slurry to replicated grassland plots across contrasting seasons. A significant increase in FIO persistence (measured by the half-life of E. coli and intestinal enterococci) was observed when slurry was applied to grassland via shallow injection, and FIO decay rates were significantly higher for FIOs applied to grassland in spring relative to summer and autumn. Significant differences in the behaviour of E. coli and intestinal enterococci over time were also observed, with E. coli half-lives influenced more strongly by season of application relative to the intestinal enterococci population. While shallow injection of slurry can reduce agricultural GHG emissions to air it can also prolong the persistence of FIOs in soil, potentially increasing the risk of their subsequent transfer to water. Awareness of (and evidence for) the potential for 'pollution-swapping' is critical in order to guard against unintended environmental impacts of agricultural management decisions.

Mitigation of agricultural diffuse pollution poses a significant policy challenge across Europe and particularly in the UK. Existing combined regulatory and voluntary approaches applied in the UK continue to fail to deliver the necessary environmental outcomes for a variety of reasons including failure to achieve high adoption rates. It is therefore logical to identify specific on-farm mitigation measures towards which farmers express positive attitudes for higher future uptake rates. Accordingly, a farmer attitudinal survey was undertaken during phase one of the Demonstration Test Catchment programme in England to understand those measures towards which surveyed farmers are most receptive to increasing implementation in the future. A total of 29 on-farm measures were shortlisted by this baseline farm survey. This shortlist comprised many low cost or cost-neutral measures suggesting that costs continue to represent a principal selection criterion for many farmers. The 29 measures were mapped onto relevant major farm types and input, assuming 95% uptake, to a national scale multi-pollutant modelling framework to predict the technically feasible impact on annual agricultural emissions to water and air, relative to business as usual. Simulated median emission reductions, relative to current practise, for water management catchments across England and Wales, were estimated to be in the order sediment (20%)>ammonia (16%)>total phosphorus (15%)>nitrate/methane (11%)>nitrous oxide (7%). The corresponding median annual total cost of the modelled scenario to farmers was £3 ha-1yr-1, with a corresponding range of -£84ha-1yr-1 (i.e. a net saving) to £33ha-1yr-1. The results suggest that those mitigation measures which surveyed farmers are most inclined to implement in the future would improve the environmental performance of agriculture in England and Wales at minimum to low cost per hectare.

Agri-environment schemes remain a controversial approach to reversing biodiversity losses, partly because the drivers of variation in outcomes are poorly understood. In particular, there is a lack of studies that consider both social and ecological factors. We analysed variation across 48 farms in the quality and biodiversity outcomes of agri-environmental habitats designed to provide pollen and nectar for bumblebees and butterflies or winter seed for birds. We used interviews and ecological surveys to gather data on farmer experience and understanding of agri-environment schemes, and local and landscape environmental factors. Multimodel inference indicated social factors had a strong impact on outcomes and that farmer experiential learning was a key process. The quality of the created habitat was affected positively by the farmer's previous experience in environmental management. The farmer's confidence in their ability to carry out the required management was negatively related to the provision of floral resources. Farmers with more wildlife-friendly motivations tended to produce more floral resources, but fewer seed resources. Bird, bumblebee and butterfly biodiversity responses were strongly affected by the quantity of seed or floral resources. Shelter enhanced biodiversity, directly increased floral resources and decreased seed yield. Seasonal weather patterns had large effects on both measures. Surprisingly, larger species pools and amounts of semi-natural habitat in the surrounding landscape had negative effects on biodiversity, which may indicate use by fauna of alternative foraging resources. Synthesis and application. This is the first study to show a direct role of farmer social variables on the success of agri-environment schemes in supporting farmland biodiversity. It suggests that farmers are not simply implementing agri-environment options, but are learning and improving outcomes by doing so. Better engagement with farmers and working with farmers who have a history of environmental management may therefore enhance success. The importance of a number of environmental factors may explain why agri-environment outcomes are variable, and suggests some - such as the weather - cannot be controlled. Others, such as shelter, could be incorporated into agri-environment prescriptions. The role of landscape factors remains complex and currently eludes simple conclusions about large-scale targeting of schemes.

The Farm Management Survey was a sample survey set up by the Ministry of Agriculture to assess the level of farm incomes in England and Wales. It continues to the present day as the Farm Business Survey. The article sets the original Survey in its intellectual context, pointing out that Britain was a relative latecomer to such survey work, and explains why civil servants in the 1920s and 1930s thought it important to have the data that it produced. It traces the initial difficulties encountered in establishing the Survey and follows its subsequent development through the Second World War and into the 1960s, pointing out that the surviving fieldbooks and summary forms constitute an invaluable source for agricultural historians of the wartime and post-war periods. Website © 2013 Publishing Technology.

Controversy persists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland concerning methods of controlling the transmission of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) between badgers and cattle. The National Trust, a major land-owning heritage organisation, in 2011, began a programme of vaccinating badgers against bTB on its Killerton Estate in Devon. Most of the estate is farmed by 18 tenant farmers, who thus have a strong interest in the Trust's approach, particularly as all have felt the effects of the disease. This article reports on a study of the attitudes to vaccination of badgers and to the alternative of a culling programme, using face-to-face interviews with 14 of the tenants. The results indicated first that the views of the respondents were more nuanced than the contemporary public debate about badger control would suggest. Secondly, the attitude of the interviewees to vaccination of badgers against bTB was generally one of resigned acceptance. Thirdly, most respondents would prefer a combination of an effective vaccination programme with an effective culling programme, the latter reducing population of density sufficiently (and preferably targeting the badgers most likely to be diseased) for vaccination to have a reasonable chance of success. While based on a small sample, these results will contribute to the vigorous debate concerning contrasting policy approaches to bTB control in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Research on voluntary agri-environmental schemes (AES) typically reveals limited engagement on the part of most participants, with the majority enticed into participation by a combination of attractive payment rates and compatibility with the existing farming system. Commentators have argued that changing farmer attitudes towards environmental management should be an outcome of AES. One possible way of doing this is through the provision of educational and advisory programmes designed to help farmers understand why certain actions are required and how to undertake appropriate conservation management. Based on interviews with a sample of 24 farmers in the East and South West of England this paper explores farmer understanding and concerns regarding the management requirements of two options implemented under the Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) scheme. It considers the short and medium term impacts of participating in bespoke group training events and discusses the potential of training to improve the effective implementation of agri-environmental management at the farm level. Analysis of the impact of training reveals that participation in bespoke group training events can fill knowledge gaps, equip farmers with a range of management skills, improve confidence and engender a more professionalised approach to agri-environmental management

Purpose – the purpose of this paper is to test the efficacy of the concept of food miles that has
proved so popular with the public as a means of assessing the sustainability of produce.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses data from a UK major food importer and
retailer to correlate carbon emissions from transport, and transport-related storage, with food miles by
creating farm-specific mode-weighted emission factors.
Findings – the correlation is found to be poor for a wide range of products and locations and it is
clear that the mode of transport is as important as the distance, with sourcing from parts of the
Mediterranean resulting in emissions greater than those from the Americas.
Practical implications – it is concluded that it is difficult to justify the use of food miles when
attempting to influence purchasing behaviour. Because of this result, processes and tools have been
developed that relay information on true transport-related carbon emissions to customers and bulk
purchasers that allow them to make informed decisions.
Originality/value – This paper questions the value of using the concept of food miles as a driving
force for changing purchasing behaviour by either the customer or the purchasing department of a
retailer.

Organic agriculture has a totemic role in debates about farming. Domestic organic production is thought to play a role in relocalised food networks. However, little is known about the market orientation of organic producers in England and Wales. Drawing on a mixed methods approach this paper characterises national, regional and local markets for organic food from a supply perspective. It identifies local, regional and national market orientation and considers the concentration of marketing channels using the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. The analysis demonstrates the heterogeneity of the sector and an uneven geography of organic marketing in England and Wales.

This paper examines the implications of adopting catchment scale approaches for the sustainable management of land and water systems. Drawing on the findings of an interdisciplinary study examining how farm management practices impact on the loss of faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) and potential pathogens from land to water, the paper argues that the overwhelming focus on integration at the catchment level may risk ignoring the sub-catchment as an equally appropriate unit of hydrological analysis. Further the paper suggests that many of the management decisions relevant to water quality are made by land occupiers and, therefore, that the identification of relevant socio-spatial units – the ‘private spaces’ of land holdings - may be as important or more important to the effective management and planning of water resources as catchment-level planning.

This paper draws on lessons from a UK case study in the management of diffuse microbial pollution from grassland farm systems in the Taw catchment, southwest England. We report on the development and preliminary testing of a field-scale faecal indicator organism risk indexing tool (FIORIT). This tool aims to prioritise those fields most vulnerable in terms of their risk of contributing FIOs to water. FIORIT risk indices were related to recorded microbial water quality parameters (faecal coliforms [FC] and intestinal enterococci [IE]) to provide a concurrent on-farm evaluation of the tool. There was a significant upward trend in Log[FC] and Log[IE] values with FIORIT risk score classification (r(2) = 0.87 and 0.70, respectively and P < 0.01 for both FIOs). The FIORIT was then applied to 162 representative grassland fields through different seasons for ten farms in the case study catchment to determine the distribution of on-farm spatial and temporal risk. The high risk fields made up only a small proportion (1%, 2%, 2% and 3% for winter, spring, summer and autumn, respectively) of the total number of fields assessed (and less than 10% of the total area), but the likelihood of the hydrological connection of high FIO source areas to receiving watercourses makes them a priority for mitigation efforts. The FIORIT provides a preliminary and evolving mechanism through which we can combine risk assessment with risk communication to end-users and provides a framework for prioritising future empirical research. Continued testing of FIORIT across different geographical areas under both low and high flow conditions is now needed to initiate its long-term development into a robust indexing tool. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

European rural development scholars have been preoccupied with how to understand the pace and scope of rural landscape change, as increasingly liberalized market economic policies and stringent environmental mandates shape contemporary landscapes and livelihoods. Recent efforts to document and theorize the new practices occurring in rural landscapes have produced two competing explanatory frameworks of rural change, one of which asserts a paradigm shift in rural development based around new agri-food networks and the expansion of non-agriculturally related activities in the landscape, while the other argues there is more continuity than change in current practices. The paper presents a case study of livestock farming in Devon, southwest England, a region where agriculture is central to the iconography of the area and yet is under threat by environmental and economic challenges. Based on in-depth interviews and extensive surveys with nearly 80 farmers in a catchment in Devon, we find that most of the changes farmers are making in response to these challenges are agri-centric ‘coping strategies’ embedded within a productivist framework, rather than
constituting a new paradigm of rural development.

Public opposition to the siting of renewable energy (RE) facilities and public reluctance to invest in RE remain key obstacles to the expansion of the renewables sector in the UK and a number of other European countries. Although there is a growing body of qualitative research on factors that inform public attitudes towards RE, the majority of studies have tended to be quantitative and to view 'the public' and 'public opinion' as homogeneous wholes. This study uses a cultural theory framework and focus groups conducted in the South West UK to develop deeper understandings of how individuals' worldviews can inform opinions and behaviour in relation to RE. These findings are used to explore ways in which government policies on RE might be tailored to engender greater public support and participation. Issues discussed include the provision of economic incentives, information on climate change and RE, linking renewables to overall energy behaviour, and landscape aesthetics. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Diffuse microbial pollution from agriculture is a key contributor to water quality impairment. Reducing the risk of microbial contamination of watercourses from agricultural sources requires both environmentally appropriate and socially acceptable mitigation and management approaches. A cross-disciplinary toolkit for on-farm microbial risk assessment is presented that can represent both social and environmental factors promoting or preventing the accumulation of faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) within the farm environment, and also their subsequent transfer to watercourses. Four key risk criteria were identified as governing FIO loss from land to water. These were 'accumulating E. coli burden to land', 'landscape transfer potential', 'infrastructure' and 'social and economical obstacles to taking action'. The toolkit can be used to determine (i) the relative risk of a farm enterprise contributing to microbial watercourse pollution and (ii) appropriate and targeted mitigation to reduce the risk of FIO loss from land to water. A comparison of the toolkit output with microbiological water quality draining from three contrasting grassland farm enterprises provided a preliminary evaluation of the prototype approach. When applied to 31 grassland farm enterprises the toolkit suggested that 0% were categorised as negligible risk, 32% low, 65% medium, 3% high and 0% very high risk. Such qualitative risk-based tools can assist the policy community not only to target high risk areas, but also to develop mitigation strategies that are sensitive to the different ways in which risk is produced. Capacity for long-term cross-disciplinary research is argued to be the means by which these integrated and more Sustainable solutions may emerge. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The paper examines drivers of change in agricultural land use in order to identify data requirements and assess data suitability. In order to assess the fitness for purpose of available data, the paper provides an overview of the sources of data for agriculture and land use in the UK, in both a contemporary and historical context. It provides a brief assessment of the state of scientific knowledge on the analysis of land use change, combined with a consideration of some of the possible advances promised by the new land use science. © 2009 Queen's Printer and Controller of HMSO.

A laboratory assay for comparative characterization of various faecal matrices with respect to faecal indicator organism (FIO) release using, artificial rain water. Methods and Results: Fresh sheep and beef-cattle faeces, dairy cattle slurry and beef cattle farm yard manure (FYM) were collected from commercial units in south-west England and applied to 20 randomized 1 m2 plots established on permanent grassland. Representative samples from each faecal matrix (n = 5) were collected on four occasions over 16 days. One gram of each sample was transferred to a sterile vial to which 9 ml of standard local rain was carefully pipetted. The vial was then rotated through 360, 20 times in 60 s to ‘simulate’ a standardized interaction of the faecal material with rainfall, providing an assay of comparative release potential. Appropriate decimal dilutions were prepared from the eluent. Following agitation, with a sterile spatula, the remaining faecal material and eluent in the vials were vortex mixed for 60 s before decimal dilutions were prepared from the resulting mixture, providing a quantitative assessment of the total FIO in the sample from which percentage release could be determined. Bacterial concentrations were enumerated in duplicate by membrane filtration following standard methods for FIO. Significant differences in release kinetics of Escherichia coli and enterococci from each of the faecal matrices were determined. Conclusions: Differences in release from each faecal substrate and between FIO type (E. coli and intestinal enterococci) were observed in this laboratory study. The order of release of E. coli from the faecal matrices(greatest to least, expressed as a percentage of the total present) was dairy cattle slurry > beef cattle FYM > beef-cattle faeces > sheep faeces. For intestinal enterococci the order of percentage release was dairy cattle slurry > beef-cattle faeces > beef cattle FYM > sheep faeces. Significance and Impact of the Study: This laboratory-based method provides the first data on the relative release kinetics of FIO from different faecal matrices in rain water. This is fundamental information needed to parameterize laboratory-based microbial models and inform approaches to field and catchment risk assessment.

The prediction of microbial concentrations and loads in receiving waters is a key
requirement for informing policy decisions in order to safeguard human health. However, modelling
the fate and transfer dynamics of faecally derived microorganisms at different spatial scales poses
a considerable challenge to the research and policy community. The objective of this paper is to
critically evaluate the complexities and associated uncertainties attributed to the development
of models for assessing agriculturally derived microbial pollution of watercourses. A series of key
issues with respect to scale appropriate modelling of diffuse microbial pollution from agriculture is
presented, and these include: (1) appreciating inadequacies in baseline sampling to underpin model
development; (2) uncertainty in the magnitudes of microbial pollutants attributed to different faecal
sources; (3) continued development of the empirical evidence base in line with other agricultural
pollutants; (4) acknowledging the added value of interdisciplinary working; and (5) beginning to
account for economics in model development. It is argued that uncertainty in model predictions
produces a space for meaningful scrutiny of the nature of evidence and assumptions underpinning
model applications around which pathways towards more effective model development may
ultimately emerge.

The prediction of microbial concentrations and loads in receiving waters is a key requirement for informing policy decisions in order to safeguard human health. However, modelling the fate and transfer dynamics of faecally derived microorganisms at different spatial scales poses a considerable challenge to the research and policy community. The objective of this paper is to critically evaluate the complexities and associated uncertainties attributed to the development of models for assessing agriculturally derived microbial pollution of watercourses. A series of key issues with respect to scale appropriate modelling of diffuse microbial pollution from agriculture is presented, and these include: (1) appreciating inadequacies in baseline sampling to underpin model development; (2) uncertainty in the magnitudes of microbial pollutants attributed to different faecal sources; (3) continued development of the empirical evidence base in line with other agricultural pollutants; (4) acknowledging the value of interdisciplinary working; and (5) beginning to account for economics in model development. It is argued that uncertainty in model predictions produces a space for meaningful scrutiny of the nature of evidence and assumptions underpinning model applications around which pathways towards more effective model development may ultimately emerge.

This paper examines some of the theoretical and methodological issues arising from the process of conceptualising and eliciting values for environmental risk in the context of heterogeneous expert knowledge. Drawing on the experience of a recent research project examining the relationship between livestock farming systems and microbial watercourse pollution the paper reflects critically upon efforts to develop an interdisciplinary assessment of the factors that may affect the loss of potential pathogens from agricultural land to water courses as the basis for targeting high risk fields and farms. The paper describes the procedures for designing the natural and cultural parameters that surround microbial risks and the issues that are raised for making whole system assessments workable based on contrasting and unstable systems of disciplinary insight. Situated within claims about the need for generating reliable and widely applicable assessments of environmental risk the paper suggests that interdisciplinary working raises important issues about the role of ‘uncertain’ knowledge in the management of ‘known’ risks.

Shortly after the designation of Exmoor National Park in 1954 the moorland that the park was charged with maintaining and enhancing came under threat from agricultural improvement. The ensuing ‘moorland conflict’ eventually lead to a pioneering system of moorland management agreements (MMAs). The MMAs have an important place in the transformation of agricultural policy and the development and social acceptance amongst farmers and landowners of the concept that farmers should be paid for their stewardship of the environment. Drawing on published and unpublished documents, as well as extensive interviews, this paper revisits the origins of the problem of moorland reclamation, assesses role played by key individuals in publicising the problem and promoting management agreements as a solution, considers the risks taken by those entering into management agreements, and identifies some of the tangible and intangible impacts of the MMA system.

A substantial body of sociological research has examined the relationship between farmers' environmental attitudes and their conservation behaviors, but little research has compared the attitudes of producers and consumers toward the environment with their behaviors or practices in support of sustainable agri-food systems. This paper addresses these shortcomings by analyzing the intersection between producer and consumer attitudes toward environmental sustainability with their actual practices, drawing data from focus group interviews and surveys with producers and consumers in Washington State, USA. We compare farmers' attitudes toward several agricultural and environmental policies with their self-reported practices to examine whether support for environmental policies aligns with sustainable farming practices. For consumers, we investigate the relationship between their attitudes toward the same agricultural and environmental policy issues with their interest in purchasing food produced in an environmentally sustainable manner. Through our analyses, we find that consumers' and producers' practices are not always consistently correlated with their environmental attitudes, but that support for agricultural land preservation is one policy area in which the interests of producers and consumers intersect with their interest in sustainable farming and food. Findings from our individual and focus group interviews assist us in understanding the multiple, sometimes competing, factors that consumers and producers must weigh in making decisions about environmentally sustainable food and farming. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This paper explores the regionalization and rescaling of agro-food governance in the context of renewed interest in the territoriality, or respacing, of agro-food markets. Rescaling concerns state processes and multilevel governance. Rural respacing is driven by changes in the agro-food sector brought about by market developments. This paper examines the relationship between respacing and rescaling, through an analysis of the changing agro-food governance in the south-west of England. A case study is provided of the implementation of the Sustainable Farming and Food Strategy in the region. While agro-food policy remains centrally driven in terms of budget resource and strategic lead, the new institutional landscape, combined in this case with the market imperative of respacing, provides an opportunity for the building of new identities and capacities which in themselves both transform and confront existing scalar configurations and power distributions. © 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

With an increasing amount of public funds being spent on agri-environmental schemes effective methods have to be developed to evaluate them. As many schemes have multiple objectives there is a need for a multi-disciplinary approach to any evaluation. A method was developed to assess the degree to which ecological, landscape, historical and access objectives for the Countryside Stewardship Scheme (CSS) in England have been met. The method used a sample of 484 agreements for which data were collected from surveys, a desk study and an interview with the agreement holder. These data were then evaluated by an expert team of an ecologist, landscape architect, landscape historian, and a social scientist specializing in rural affairs. The team were subsequently brought together with a Chair to discuss their findings for each agreement, allocating scores for each of five criteria: agreement negotiation; appropriateness, environmental effectiveness, compliance and side effects. The additionality that each agreement was likely to provide was also assessed. The results of this process suggest that in the majority of cases the CSS agreements should maintain or enhance the environment in terms of ecology, landscape, and landscape history and increase public enjoyment of the countryside. Thirty-six percent of agreements showed high additionality and 38% medium additionality which demonstrates that the CSS is likely to provide a benefit to society. Agreement negotiation, predicted environmental effectiveness and predicted compliance all improved significantly over the period 1996-98. Recommendations made from this project have been implemented by the Government department to improve the CSS. The multi-disciplinary method was successful and, with further development, could be used for assessment of any agri-environment scheme, or potentially any conservation project or broader 'rural development' scheme encompassing environmental, economic and social objectives. A key to success is the need for the criteria to be tailored for the project concerned and clearly established at the beginning.

This paper examines the origins of Environinentally Sensitive Areas in the U.K. and the political context of their formulation and implementation. A detailed case study of the designation of the Somerset Levels ESA is provided. Conflict between farmers and conservationists erupted in the Levels in the aftennath of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. The paper shows how the uneasy truce, which emerged with the progress of management agreements under the 1981 Act, developed into an enthusiasm among farmers for conservation notifications when the ESA policy was introduced in 1986-1987. Farmers came to see some of the financial benefits of compensatory environmental policies especially in the context of declining levels of agricultural support. Political harmony on the Levels is threatened, however, by renewed concern over environmental changes caused by a general lowering of the water levels in recent years. The problem of water levels is, in part, a consequence of the activities of the Internal Drainage Boards, whose independence and, in some cases, undemocratic character remains a serious problem for environmental management on the Levels. Whilst there are many positive features about the ESA policy, in contrast to some aspects of the 1981 legislation, the paper emphasises the need for still greater co-ordination and consistency of policy. © 1990.

The paper seeks to examine the prospects for the introduction of formal controls over agricultural and environmental change in the countryside through an analysis of the policy preferences of the National Farmers' Union and the Country Landowners' Association and the rapidiy changing context within which they are operating. We argue that it is mistaken to suppose that there exists a generalised objection to regulation within the farming and landowning community. Present developments are, moreover, blurring the distinction between production and conservation policies. In addition the authority of the farming lobby has been significantly weakened. But we suggest, nonetheless, that the persistent power of constraint enjoyed by farming and landowning interests is likely to ensure that a particular view of environmental protection, involving compensation for property rights foregone, remains predominant. © 1988.

This paper highlights recent political and environmental concern over the consequences of British agricultural policy. It suggests that conservation needs to become a farm management objective and that policies should be designed to that end. The administration and implementation of policies is seen to be crucial and County Agricultural and Rural Conservation Committees are proposed as a suitable mechanism for administering the new policies. Earlier precedents for such committees and possible powers and a constitution appropriate to the 1980s are discussed. The committees are seen in the context of a bargained partnership between government and farmers, with a primarily self-regulatory function within the agricultural community. © 1985.

This paper provides an historical background to corporatist policy arrangements in British agriculture. It then examines recent changes in agricultural objectives, policy making, and conflicts. In particular it emphasises the politicisation of agriculture and tlie changed basis for corporatist initiative in policy making and implementation consequent on the shift from political concern with production to concern at the financial and environmental costs of agricultural price support policies. The integrity of the agricultural policy community itself is of critical significance for these changes. Accordingly the paper closely considers the changing position of the National Farmers' Union, particularly as a result of increased public concern over its role in environmental protection in the aftermath of the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act. Cet article commence par rappeler les bases historiques du caractère corporatif de la politique agricole britannique: il décrit ensuite les changements récents et les conflits apparus dans le secteur agricole. II met en évidence la politisation des problèmes agricoles: les préoccupations politiques, jusque là centrées sur la production agricole seule, sont de plus en plus centrées sur les couts financiers et les impacts environnementaux des politiques de soutien des prix agricoles, et cela modifie nettement la base sur laquelle ľ organisarjon corporative peut agir. Dès lors, c'est tout le mécanisme de solidarite de la politique agricole qui est mis en cause. Ľ article centre alors ľ attention sur ľ Union Nationale des Agriculteurs et son attitude nouvelle face à une opinion qui s'interesse de plus à son rôle dans la politique de ľ environnement qui découle de la Loi sur la Nature et la Campagne de 1981. Der Beitrag zeigt zunächst den historischen Hintergrund der korporatistischen Politikeinrichtungen in der britischen Landwirtschaft auf. Danach werden jüngste Veränderungen landwirtschaftlicher Ziele, Politikgestaltung und Konflikte untersucht. Insbesondere werden die Politisierung der Landwirtschaft und die veränderte Basis fur korporatistische Ansätze bei der Gestaltung und Implementierung politischer Maßnahmen als Folge der Verlagerung des politischen Interesses von Produktionszielen zu den finanziellen und Umweltkosten der landwirtschaftlichen Preissrützungspolitik betrachtet. Die Geschlossenheit der landwirtschaftlichen Politikgemeinschaft selbst ist von entscheidender Bedeutung für diese Veränderungen. Dementsprechend wird in dem Beitrag eingehend die sich ändernde Position des Nationalen Bauernverbandes, insbesondere aufgrund des erhöhten öffentlichen Interesses an seiner Rolle beim Umweltschutz infolge des Gesetzes über den Natur‐ und Landschaftsschutz von 1981, erörtert. Copyright © 1985, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved

The revival of County Agricultural Committees (CACs) has recently been proposed in the U.K. as a means of directly involving the farming community in the implementation and even formulation of policies designed to facilitate a closer integration of agriculture and nature conservation. Pye-Smith and North, in particular, have proposed sweeping powers for CACs as an alternative to most forms of external controls on agriculture. Whilst recognising the positive role that CACs could play in implementing policies, this paper expresses concern over the wide-ranging powers proposed by Pye-Smith and North. Looking at the history of CACs, especially in war-time and during the immediate post-war period, it is clear that their powers were delegated and their role self-regulatory rather than self-determining. The success of the CACs was dependent on a percieved bargain between farmers and government at a time of national crisis or re-building. For revived CACs to be successful a new partnership would have to be struck and the responsibilities of the committees would need to be clearly defined. © 1985.

As the conflict between agriculture and conservation in Britain continues, the farming and landowning lobby has placed increasing emphasis on the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG). This paper examines the development of FWAG as a mechanism for self-regulation through a voluntary and co-operative approach to conservation within the farming community. FWAG, until recently accorded little attention either by farmers or government, now enjoys considerable patronage, and new-found financial support from the Countryside Commission. As the National Farmers' Union (NFU) and Country Landowners' Association (CLA) seek to contain the tide of criticism of activities in the countryside FWAG, essentially a practical advisory body, has assumed a crucial ideological importance in the presentation of the farmers' traditional case of 'stewardship' and 'good husbandry'. The paper concludes by stressing the dilemma facing the NFU and CLA as they seek to satisfy the wishes of their own members, government and the conservation lobby. © 1985.

Family farming is an important element in British agriculture, particularly dairying. The nature of specialised milk production by family farmers is intricately linked to the activities of the Milk Marketing Board (M.M.B.). This article traces the history of the Milk Marketing Board and assesses its impact on dairy producers. The Board is taken as an example of corporatist arrangements in the political management of the agricultural economy, and the article explores a number of issues central to the debate on corporatism. The Board is seen to be a powerful form of representation of dairy farmers to government, and at the same time a means of regulation of members through the implementation of a number of modernising policies. Questions of the accountability of the Board to consumers, farmers and government are raised. ľ'agriculture familiale est une composante importante de ľagriculturc britannique, spécialement dans ľélevagc. La nature de la production laitiere spécialisée est intimement liée, en ce qui concerne les producteurs familiaux, aux activités du Milk Marketing Board (M.M.B.). ľarticle retrace ľhistoire de cette institution et évaluc son impact sur les producteurs individuels. II s'agit ?un excmple ?organisation corporative dans la gestion politique de ľéconomie agricole: ľarticle détaille quelques thémes cruciaux du débat sur le corporatisme. Le M.M.B. est à la fois un représentant puissant des élevcurs auprés du gouvernement, et un moyen de régulation à travers la mise en oeuvre de nombreuses politiques modernisatrices. ľarticle évoque enfin les problémes de responsabilité de cette organisation par rapport aux consommateurs, aux agriculteurs et au gouvernement. Landwirtschaftliche Familienbetriebe sind ein wesentliches Element dcr britischen Land‐wirtschaft, vor allem in dcr Milchviehhaltung. Die spczialisierte Milcherzeugung in land‐wirtschaftlichen Familienbctrieben ist in komplizierter Weisc mit den Aktivitäten des Milk‐Marketing‐Board (M.M.B.) verbunden. Dieser Artikcl zeichnct die historische Ent‐wicklung des Milk‐Marketing‐Board nach und bcurtcilt seincn Einfluß auf die Milcher‐zeuger. Das Board wird als ein Beispiel für körperschaftlicher Einrichtungen zur politischen Steuerung der Agrarwirtschaft angesehen, und in dem Artikel werden cine Reihe von Sachverhalten untcrsucht, die in der Debatte über den Korporativismus cine zentrale Rolle spielen. Das Board wird als cine machtvolle Form der Vertretung der Milchviehhalter gegenüber der Regierung angesehen und gleichzeitig als ein Mittel zur Beeinflussung der Mitglieder durch die Einfiürung einer Reihe von politischen Modernisierungsmaßnahmen. Fragen der Veranrwortlichkeit des Board gegenüber Verbrauchern, Landwirten und der Regierung werden aufgeworfen. Copyright © 1984, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved