Economic Comparison

• Allowing stock to remain on Molland Moor through the winter was a key component of the project.
• The stock were provided by Luckworthy Farm. This was a new farming tenancy set up at the start of the project, and part of the agreement was that the farm would graze hardy cattle and sheep on the moor.
• A primary objective for the project was to compare the financial position of a cattle enterprise using the moor throughout the year with a similar sized enterprise where cattle are housed during the winter.
• As Molland Moor is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation, the stocking levels were agreed with Natural England.

Table 1 - Winter and Summer Stocking Rates

• Data were collected from Luckworthy Farm and analysed by the Royal Agricultural University. Gross margins and other basic performance indicators were calculated for both the cattle and sheep moorland enterprises.
• The combined results from Luckworthy were compared with comparable farms in the Farm Business Survey (FBS), which are identified as ‘Less Favoured Area Sheep and Beef’.
• Information was not collected in the first two years, to allow the new stock enterprises time to settle down.  In the second year of data collection, the farm was under bovine TB (bTB) restrictions for 12 months, which reduced the comparability of the financial data.

Table 2 - Gross margins per head over the 2 years - Molland compared to FBS data

Conclusions

Analysis of the economic performance suggests that using the moor does not disadvantage the farm business economically, if suitable hardy stock are kept.
Outputs are lower, but costs are also lower.
Data collection is continuing and this will increase the level of confidence in these results.

Further Information

• The Graze the Moor Project Final Report – section 22.
• The Project Evaluation & Economic Comparison - available in the Project Report Folder.