The Scottish Government

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General Research Findings No.3
1999

Evaluation of Prevention of Environmental Pollution from Agricultural Activity (PEPFAA) Code
Peter Evans, Market Research Scotland

Main Findings

• Farmers found the PEPFAA Code to be an important and useful information source on environmental and pollution matters.
• Sources of environmental and pollution information, in general, were found to be 'valuable' and 'easily available'.
• In total, just over half of farmers had heard of the PEPFAA Code before the research was conducted.
• About a third of farmers thought they had 'owned' or 'had access to' the Code.
• Two fifths of farmers remembered being sent a copy of the Code.
• Nearly three quarters of farmers who had 'owned' or 'had access to' the Code had 'referred' to it and a quarter said they had 'taken action' as a result of referring to the Code. Many thought they would refer to the Code in the future.
• The PEPFAA Code was viewed by farmers to be 'easy to use', 'well laid out' and the information 'relevant'.
• Many farmers would like to be sent more information about Environmental and Pollution issues in the future.
• Given the length of time between the sending out of the PEPFAA Code to farmers and this exercise, these findings provide a positive evaluation of the Code, compared with other forms of direct mail evaluation carried out by Market Research Scotland.

Introduction

The Prevention of Environmental Pollution from Agricultural Activity (PEPFAA) Code highlights potential environmental problems associated with agriculture practices and provides a practical guide to farmers in ways of eliminating or minimising problems. The scope of the Code covers air, water and soil pollution.

The PEPFAA Code was first published by The Scottish Office in 1985. Since then a number of revised editions have been issued, the most recent one in July 1997.

Information provided by SOAEFD highlighted a variation in the proportion of each farm type sent the PEPFAA Code in July 1997. As a result, 59% of poultry farmers who participated in the research had been sent a copy compared with 81% of pig farmers, 7% of sheep farmers, 93% of cereal/arable farmers and 58% of cattle farmers.

Research Aims & Target Group

The overall aim of the research was to investigate the views of farmers on the perceived usefulness and effectiveness of the PEPFAA Code and to identify ways in which the Code could be improved in the future.

In March 1999, the Department commissioned Market Research Scotland to undertake research to investigate the views of farmers on the usefulness and effectiveness of the Code and to identify ways in which it could be improved. Specific research objectives, agreed with CRU and SOAEFD in advance, were to establish:

• Awareness, ownership and readership of the Code
• Action, if any, taken as a result of reading the Code
• Perceptions of the publication in terms of ease of understanding, ease of reading and usefulness
• Perceived strengths and weaknesses of the Code
• Suggested areas of improvement in terms of the format, content and method of distributing the Code.

A total of 400 telephone interviews with farmers covering poultry, pigs, sheep, cereal/arable and cattle farming were undertaken between March and April 1999.

Nearly two years had elapsed between when the Code was sent out by SOAEFD and the research fieldwork conducted. This is a relatively long passage of time to evaluate recall, use and perceptions of a piece of direct mail. Taking this into account further indicates the research findings are positive.

Perceived Availability and Value of Information Sources

Farmers were first asked to name (without prompting) any sources of information, such as guides or publications, relating to Environmental or Pollution issues. The most frequent response was 'Scottish Office Code of Practice' with 'PEPFAA' mentioned by approximately 1 in 6 respondents. This initial finding suggests the Scottish Office/PEPFAA Code was 'top of mind' among the Scottish farming community as a source of Environmental or Pollution information.

In general sources of Environmental or Pollution information were thought 'easily available' and to be 'valuable' sources of information.

Knowledge/Ownership of the Code

Just over half overall had heard of the PEPFAA Code before the research; with sheep farmers the least likely to have heard of the Code and pig farmers the most likely. Overall, about 1 in 3 respondents considered themselves to have 'owned' or 'had access' to the Code. The majority of these farmers thought they had received their copy via direct mail within the last 2 years.

Once fully prompted, approximately two fifths of the whole sample recalled receiving the PEPFAA Code by post; with sheep farmers the least likely to recall receipt and cereal/arable farmers the most likely.

Readership of the Code and Action Taken

A large proportion (nearly three quarters) had either 'fully read' or 'glanced at' the Code. The majority who recalled receiving the PEPFAA Code had 'kept it for future reference'. A quarter considered themselves to have 'taken action as a result of reading the Code'. In terms of future reference, two thirds considered themselves 'likely to refer to the Code in the future.

There was wide variation in the subject area referred to in the Code, although there was a high degree of correlation between the subject area referred to and the areas considered to be of greatest importance to each farm sector. The majority of respondents who had referred to the Code considered it to have been 'useful' to their needs at the time of reference.

Perceptions of the Code

Perceptions of the execution and presentation of the PEPFAA Code were positive. The edition distributed in July 1997 was thought to be 'easy to use', 'well laid out' and to contain 'relevant' and 'clear' information.

Future Information and Policy Implications

A large minority (approximately 4 out of 10 across all farm types) would like further information about Environmental and Pollution issues. This is a key finding for future policy. The specific type of information wanted varied across farm types, although it reflected the areas thought to be most relevant to the 5 types of agricultural holdings. Direct mail was clearly the preferred future communication route.

In summary, the findings indicate the PEPFAA Code was seen as an important and useful information source by farmers. Given the relatively long passage of time between distribution and the research fieldwork, recall of the PEPFAA Code was high, compared with other direct mail evaluations conducted by Market Research Scotland. The findings indicate a requirement for more information about Environmental and Pollution issues to be mailed directly to farmers in the future.

About the Survey

In total, 400 Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) were conducted by I.Q.C.S (Interviewer Quality Control Scheme) accredited interviewers. Interviews were conducted with the person with part or sole responsibility for Environmental and Pollution issues on the farm or rural business.

The sample was drawn from the 5 key types of farming activity; poultry, pig, sheep, cereal/arable and cattle. This division ensured comprehensive feedback to the range of Environmental issues covered by the PEPFAA Code.

The research sample was provided by SOAEFD. A pre interview letter was sent to potential respondents to provide background information, validate the research and encourage participation. All fieldwork was conducted between March and April 1999.

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