Support Supply Chain Development
NFU launch supermarket meat retailing report
Meat retail sales, worth £7 billion a year, have been analysed in a new report being published by the NFU on 20th March 2008. The Meat and Livestock Commission has issued the Supermarket Meat Retailing report on behalf of the NFU to look at key areas of the livestock industry and its place within the retail sector.
For more info click here.
For the Report click here
Business Resource Efficiency Advice from Business Link for food chain SMEs
This is an impartial advice and guidance service run by Business Link for small or medium sized businesses (SME) involved in the food chain who are based in the South West and whose energy usage is less than £50000 a year. It offers seminars, clinics, events and face to face advice on resource efficiency helping businesses increase their own profitability through energy savings, while lowering carbon emissions reducing energy consumption, waste and the amount of raw materials used.
For more information phone 0845 600 99 66 or go to www.businesslinksw.co.uk or click here for a leaflet about the service.
English Farming and Food Partnerships (EFFP)
The English Farming and Food Partnership (EFFP) aim is to strengthen the profitability, competitiveness and sustainability of England’s farming, food and related farm-based industries. It aims to achieve this through the growth of market focused farmer controlled businesses and other initiatives and by developing co-operation and partnership activities not only between farmers but also between farmers and the food chain. View more information.
EFFP helps farmers to rise to the challenge of a changing farming industry, by improving understanding of how supply chains operate and encouraging a greater level of investment and partnership building with others in the chain.
British farmers, who have not already done so, must move towards becoming an integral part of efficient, effective and stable supply chains, playing an active part in delivering quality products to consumers in order to secure a profitable future for farm businesses.
Operating in increasingly concentrated supply chains and with less and less government involvement in the market, individual farmers increasingly find themselves in a weak strategic position. The often difficult relations between farmers and food processors and retailers are a symptom of this unbalanced situation.
Understanding customer needs is central to any market led strategy and EFFP’s Associate Membership category for food companies helps build knowledge in this area. Made up of companies from all parts of the food chain which support our objectives, these companies also have the opportunity to help shape EFFP’s food chain strategy.
Farmer Controlled Businesses
One of EFFP’s aims is to see growth and development of market focused farmer controlled businesses (FCBs) capable of securing value for their farmers members beyond the farm gate, both upstream and downstream. Comparing England with mainland Europe or North America shows that we have relatively smaller FCB sector and as a result secure fewer of these benefits than our international competitors. However England does have considerable growth and benefits to members, which are profiled in the South West Case Studies.
One of the main findings of EFFP research suggests that farmers consider collaboration to be increasingly important in their future, but they are not always aware of the opportunities open to them or indeed even the existence and whereabouts of FCBs which could provide valuable services to help their businesses. These case studies have been published in response to farmers requesting information on FCBs more immediate to their locality and compliment the book of case studies on English and International FCBs available from EFFP.
If you are interested in supply chain development and would like to explore further how EFFP might be able to help you contact Liz Bowles on 01884 32605 or mobile 07834 337345, or email lbowles@effp.com, or visit their website www.effp.com
For a short synopsis on EFFP click here
Last Updated 04/02/08
