EFSIS-FABBL, the industry’s own farm assurance specialist, has welcomed new research published by the English Beef and Lamb Executive (EBLEX), which shows significant price premiums for farm assured beef and lamb.
“We have known for a long time that farm assured beef and lamb is what the market wants, but now EBLEX has put some accurate figures on just how much extra a farmer will get with assurance,” says Chris Reading, EFSIS-FABBL General Manager of Agriculture UK.
EBLEX’s analysis was carried out over January to August 2005 and showed an average price premium of 6.68 pence a kilogramme for ‘farm assured total cattle’. The biggest premium was for steers, at 7.77 pence/kg, while heifers went for an extra 6.88 pence a kilo.
For new season lamb there was an average premium of 2.77 pence a kilogramme, with an average £1.10 a head advantage for ewes.
“With the end of the over thirty months scheme, suckler cow producers and dairy producers can get their cow beef back onto the market,” says Chris Reading. “Assurance will be vital for them if they want to make a success of this potentially profitable addition to their business.”
EBLEX notes that: “Demand for farm assured cattle is high and the demand for farm assured sheep would appear to be on the increase.”
“What this research shows is that farm assurance is well worthwhile for farmers,” says Chris Reading. “With farm assurance from EFSIS-FABBL they can get all the sectors covered by one inspection body, cutting the number of inspectors’ visits to a minimum and getting the backing of a name the whole industry respects.”
“They will get an inspector who understands their business,” he says. “More than 95 percent of all EFSIS inspectors come from farming families and all of them know the industry well before they ever start with us. Our specialists know what they are doing.”
“We’ve argued the benefits of farm assurance for a long time,” he says. “Although it is obvious that assured beef and lamb are what the market wants it’s great to have independent research which shows just how much British farmers gain from farm assurance.”
