1. The role of Agricultural Statistics in the Policy process

2. The Policy Cycle RationaleObjectivesAppraisalMonitoringEvaluationFeedback

3. CAP Examples Coupled Support (Scottish Beef Scheme) New Entrants Greening

4. Crop Diversification 3 crop rule 17,643 Businesses 7,057 no arable land 1,698 exempt < 10ha arable 8,888 have >10ha arable and need to comply with crop div but some will Have required number of crops 303 in Highland 192 in D&G 287 in NE Scotland 1130 in Tayside 887 in D&G 2,681 in NE Scotland 791 in Highland 738 in Borders Greening Agreement 1,938 business have 10 – 30 ha 1,412 have 10 – 30 ha arable and less than 2 crops so would need to grow at least 1 extra crop type unless > 75% grass. 6,950 businesses have >30 ha arable 526 have 2 crops and need do nothing more 3,690 have 3 or more crops and need do nothing more 3,260 businesses have less than 3 crops and would need to grow at least 1 extra crop type. Grass exemption wouldn’t apply as >30ha arable Overall, of the 8,888 businesses that need to be sure that they met crop diversification requirements, 4,216 (47%) already meet the requirements. At least 3,260 (40%) would need to grow at least 1 extra crop type and unless they had >75% grass, a further 1,412 may also have to grow an additional crop type.

5. Conclusion Agricultural Statistics; Provide valuable information that allows us to establish a rationale for agricultural policy decisions. Help us design policies with specific objectives to benefit Scottish Agriculture. Allow us to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of policy decisions. Help shape our negotiating position for European Policy negotiations. Provide useful information for briefings and PQ’s etc. Agricultural Statistics are one of the most important pieces of the agricultural policy tool-kit.