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2010
The on-line version of the AFI Users’ Manual is now available here.
2009
The team published several papers and continued to present this work at conferences:
 Finn, J. A., Louwagie, G., Balazs, K., Primdahl, J., Vesterager, J-P., AE-Footprint project (2009a) Survey of impact models in EU agri-environment schemes. In: Finn, J.A., Richards, K. and Shortle, G (eds.). Ireland's Rural Environment: research highlights from Johnstown Castle. (Eds.) Teagasc, pp. 61-62.
Knickel, K. and Kasperczyk N. (2009): The Agri-Environmental Footprint: Assessing the agri-environmental performance of farms in participatory and regionally adaptive ways. Outlook on AGRICULTURE, 38, No 2, 195–203.
Purvis, G., Louwagie, G., Northey, G., Mortimer, S., Park, J., Mauchline, A., Finn, J., Primdahl, J., Vejre, H., Vesterager, J.P., Knickel, K., Kasperczyk, N., Balazs, K., Vlahos, G., Christopoulos, S. and Peltola, J. (2009) Conceptual development of a harmonised method for tracking change and evaluating policy in the agri-environment: The Agri-environmental Footprint Index. Environmental Science & Policy, 12, 321-337.
Vesterager, J.P., Teilmann, K. and Vejre, H. (2009) Agri-environmental footprint index (AFI)-time series, and participants vs. non-participants in agri-environment schemes. Eforwood Conference: Shape your sustainability tools –and let your tools shape you. 23-24 September 2009, Uppsala, Sweden.
2008
Team members attended several international conferences and gave presentations based on the research findings from the project. The outputs presented at these meetings are listed below:
Finn, J.A. and Mortimer, S.R. Methodology for ex post evaluation of European agri-environment schemes: the AE-Footprint project. In: Design and implementation of effective agri-environmental policies. OECD, March 2008.
Finn, J.A. (2008) Poster at ‘Using Evaluation to Enhance the Rural Development Value of Agri-environmental Measures’, Pärnu (Estonia) June 17-19, 2008.
 Knickel, K. and Kasperczyk N. (2008): Agri-Environmental Footprint: Assessing the agri-environmental performance of farms in participatory and regionally adaptive ways. 8th European IFSA Symposium, Workshop 3: Adaptive farming systems, 6-10 July 2008, Clermont-Ferrand (France).
Knickel, K. and Kasperczyk N. (2008): Evaluating the environmental performance of farms in regionally adaptive and participatory ways. International conference „Using Evaluation to Enhance the Rural Development Value of Agri-environmental Measures”, Theme: Disentangling the impact of the policy driving forces, 17-19 June 2008, Pärnu (Estonia).
Knickel, K. and Kasperczyk N. (2008): Establishing platforms of knowledge for agri-environmental assessment and programming: A case study from Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. PECSRL – The Permanent European Conference for the Study of the Rural Landscape – 23rd Session „Landscapes, Identities and Development”, 1-5 September 2008, Lisbon (Portugal).
Louwagie, G., Purvis, G., Northey, G. and Finn, J.A. (2008). Use of the agri-environmental foorprint index to evaluate the effectiveness of the rural environment protection scheme (REPS) for Irish drystock and dairy farming. Modelling Agricultural & Rural Development Policies 107th EAAE Seminar, Sevilla, Spain.
12-13 March 2008
 The third meeting of the Panel of National Experts (PONE) took place at the Stillorgan Park Hotel, Dublin, Ireland.
The team gave a synthesis of lessons learned from the application of the methodology in a number of case studies across Europe. The successful application of the methodology to existing national datasets (including FADN) was also demonstrated. The AFI methodology was described to participants and the first draft of the AFI Users’ manual was launched.
42 people attended the meeting comprising 26 agri-environment policy-makers and researchers from 12 countries across Europe and 16 team members.
The PONE meeting was followed by a research team visit to a livestock farm being managed under the Irish Rural Environment Protection Scheme (REPS), and this was compared to a non-participating farm.
February 2008
The final research workpackage (WP8) has been completed – it was designed to further test the AFI methodology for evaluation of AES and to investigate its potential wider use as a tool for measuring the environmental footprint of agriculture. The work was led by Teagasc, Ireland, with collaboration from all partners – below is a brief summary of the studies.
The UK team used FADN data (from the English Farm Business Survey) to investigate AFI scores for arable, lowland & upland livestock holdings according to farm size, farmer age and Government Office Region. The aim was to measure the environmental impact of holdings over time by tracking changes in management decisions on individual farms.
The Greek team used existing WP7 data from their case study farms and gathered additional data from other sources. The AFI method was used to investigate i) Participating and non-participating holdings, ii) The evaluation of AES through time, iii) Use of ACM’s based on stated objectives vs. ACM’s based on wider environmental effects (with the use of sub-Issues), and iv) How the AFI methodology could help to identify policy & environmental needs for policy-makers.
The Finnish team used existing WP7 data from the watershed of River Lepsämänjoki to test the value of the AFI methodology for management decisions at the farm and policy level. This was performed through a facilitated policy dialogue type of session, where members of a regional stakeholder panel, an expert panel, policy-makers and local farmers assessed the applicability of AFI as an environmental assessment tool to advise farmers on future management decisions and the potential uses of the AFI for policy makers.
 The Danish team added a temporal dimension to data obtained for WP7 and focused on two areas of Special Drinking Water Interest in different geographical contexts. The time periods investigated were 1996 - 1997 and 2006 - 2007.
The Irish team used existing WP7 data for both case studies supplemented with additional data (mainly biodiversity data) collected from 60 farms in 2006 as part of the Agri-Baseline project. The aim was to i) Investigate possible relationships between environmental state and farm management indicators and ii) Investigate alternative sources of indicator data in Ireland.
The German team analysed their existing WP7 data further to compare different regions within the case study area with regards to grassland management practices. The effect of time was also explored over a five year period between participants and non-participants.
The Hungarian team investigated the wider usage of the AFI by utilising datasets collected on a larger scale e.g FADN and a field registry of farms that includes about 25,000 farms participating in AES.
12-13 September 2007
Team meeting in Helsinki, Finland.
2007Team members published the research from this project and presented it at the following conferences:
Mauchline, A.L., Park, J.R. and Mortimer, S.R. (2007) Measuring environmental performance and value added using the Agri-Environmental Footprint Index. 16th International Farm Management Association Congress, 15-20 July 2007, Cork, Ireland.
Louwagie, G., Finn, J.A., Northey, G. and Purvis, G. (2007). Measuring environmental benefits of agri-environmental schemes. In: Finn, J.A., Richards, K. and Shortle, G (eds.). Ireland's Rural Environment: research highlights from Johnstown Castle. (Eds.) Teagasc, pp. 61-62.
February 2007 Update on case studies
Fifteen case studies designed to test the AFI methodology have been conducted in a contrasting range of farming systems across Europe, two in each partner country (see map of case study locations in the April 2006 update below).
 The aim of this stage of the research was to test the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in a diversity of agri-environmental contexts across Europe. The step-wise AFI methodology was followed in each case, but was customised at various points to reflect the local agri-environmental context and socio-political structures. In most cases the methodology showed a difference in AFI score between scheme participating and non-participating sample farms. Sensitivity analysis showed the AFI methodology to be robust to changes in the weighting at all levels of the AFI structure.
A two-page summary of each case study can be found on the Downloads page.
February 2007
A conference of a Panel of National Experts (PONE) was held on 5-6 February 2007 in Budapest. Thirty-five people attended the meeting comprising 19 agri-environment policy-makers and researchers from 13 countries across Europe and 16 team members.
The team gave presentations on the AFI methodology and preliminary results from the case studies. The team invited questions from the PONE members and held discussion groups to gather feedback.
The PONE meeting was followed by a team meeting where the plans for the final phase of the project were discussed.
23-25 January 2007
The project was presented as a poster at a meeting of the Association of Applied Biologists, Warwick, UK in January 2007. The meeting was entitled ‘Delivering Arable Biodiversity’ and the poster gave general information about the research project and potential uses of the AFI. It generated a lot of interest from researchers and from practitioners. Click here for the full paper published in the meeting’s proceedings.
14-15 December 2006
Several team members attended the final dissemination meeting of the ITAES ‘Integrated Tools to design and implement Agro Environmental Schemes’ project in Venice. The AE-Footprint project was mentioned during the discussions as a useful follow-on from this project.
1-3 November 2006
Team meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, including a field trip to Slangerup, one of the Danish WP7 case study areas. The visit included a tour of a water extraction and purification plant, a nature reserve and an organic vegetable farm.
 Water quality has been the main driver in the Danish Rural Development Program as extraction of groundwater supplies 99.9% of Danish drinking water. Therefore the Danish case studies have focussed on the schemes that target protection of groundwater supplies and one of the case studies is located in Slangerup, 20km to the North East of Copenhagen. It was designated as an Area of Particular Drinking Water Interests in 1998-9. Groundwater protection was the sole reason for designation and the scheme aims to extensify agricultural management in terms of nitrogen use, and to a lesser degree pesticide use. Nitrate leaching is the primary threat to groundwater in the area.
In Slangerup, the local aquifers are used for local supply of domestic water supply, but the prime importance relates to the use of the groundwater for the supply to central Copenhagen. The quality of water is strongly dependent on farming regime above the wells. Water abstraction is also an issue because of the trade off between natural resources in terms of use of water for drinking purposes (regionally) and biodiversity quality in terms of the demand of water for streams not to dry out in the summer (local).
The area is characterized by intensive rotational agriculture, with scattered forests and some semi-natural agricultural land such as pastures and meadows and there are small biotopes such as ponds, hedgerows and fences.
It is an old cultural landscape with several thousand years’ agricultural history. The present settlement and cadastral systems are not more than about two hundred years old. Evidence of human activity encompasses burial mounds and other prehistoric relics along with earth and stone fences, hedgerow and shelterbelts from land reforms in the 19th century.
October 2006
The Greek research team recently featured in articles in two local Kalamata newspapers. Both articles describe elements of the research conducted as part of their case study focusing on the environmental impact of an agri-environment scheme for organic plant production in oliviculture in Messinian Mani. The first article (Tharros 15.9.06 - Greek language only) relates to the stakeholder meeting held in that region and the second article (Epikairotita 26.10.06- Greek language only) is about the farm-level surveys conducted. The local television station also sent a reporter to the stakeholder meeting.
3-4 July 2006
At the invitation of the DG Joint Research Centre (JRC), two AE-Footprint team members, Katalin Balzs and Geertrui Louwagie, attended the international workshop on Agriculture and Environment in the Balkans and Turkey: Networking Regional Experience" in Gembloux (Belgium).
This workshop was jointly organised by the European Commission - DG JRC, the Gembloux Agricultural University (Belgium), the Wallonia Business House for EUROPE (AWEX) (Belgium), the Walloon Agricultural Research Centre (Belgium) - and the European Commission - DG Enlargement - TAIEX. It happened in the framework of the JRCs Action 2153 on Integration of Environmental Concerns into Agriculture in support of creating communication platforms with and amongst Balkan countries and Turkey in the field of agriculture and environment.
With more than a hundred participants, mostly from accession and (potential) candidate countries but also Ministry officials from the EU25 and representatives of relevant FP6-funded research projects as experts, the one-day networking workshop covered several aspects of agricultural and environmental policy integration including the following:- the EU Acquis and driving instruments for integration
- agricultural policies, agri-environmental planning and implementation - regional experiences
- support to agri-environmental policies and farmers, and
- management of agriculture and water resources.
All the accession and (potential) candidate countries have started to explore the possibilities of integrating environmental and agricultural policies. Some of them are also on the way to developing policy in agri-environment.
The AE-Footprint project was publicised with flyers and through networking during the (scarce) breaks.
Apart from talking to participants from accession and (potential) candidate countries, the workshop also provided an opportunity to link with Ministry officials of EU25 countries that are not part of the AE-Footprint consortium (e.g. Austria, Belgium, Slovenia, Spain) regarding their agri-environmental schemes. It was also an occasion to talk to JRC-collaborators of Action 2153 and representatives of other EC-funded projects (eg e-LUP, electronic land use processes).
Even though this was an early stage to inform representatives of accession and (potential) candidate countries about the AFI methodology, Katalin emphasised during the General discussion the importance of planning the monitoring of compliance and AE outcomes when developing AE measures. Moreover, she referred to the potential of the AE-Footprint projects results and experience in helping such processes.
Subsequent to the meeting, Geertrui sent the Ministry officials and scientists of the accession and (potential) candidate countries an email with reference to the AFI methodology and the projects website. Indeed, apart from being a harmonised method for evaluating European agri-environmental schemes by means of an index (ie a policy evaluation tool), the AFI methodology ultimately seeks to assist in designing AE policy, both by refining existing agri-environmental policies, as well as formulating new policies.
A summary of the meeting and all presentations can be downloaded here
April 2006
The team have started the process of testing the Agri-environmental Footprint Index methodology in 14 case studies, two in each of the participating countries. The aim of this stage of the research is to test the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in a diversity of agri-environmental contexts. This process will involve consultation with local stakeholders and technical experts to ensure that an appropriate and relevant impact index is calculated.
See map for locations of the case studies across Europe.
5-7 April 2006
 Team meeting in Athens, Greece, followed by a field trip to Erateini to visit an organic olive plantation and Amfissa to visit a traditional olive grove.
Organic olive production in Greece comes under a broad agri-environmental scheme aimed at the sustainable management of agricultural land and the production of quality products. More specifically, the objectives are: reduction of pollution caused by agricultural activities, maintenance of biodiversity of agri-ecosystems, sustainable management of soil resources and improvement of protection measures for the health of farmers.
The Amfissa olive grove comprises 6,000ha, of which 4,800ha are in the lowlands (0-200m altitude) and the rest are situated in semi-mountainous grounds (201-600m altitude). The olive grove is a non-linear, unmixed olive tree cultivation, with 70% of the olive trees older than 150 years of age. The average olive parcel, lachithi, usually displays a rectangular cross-section and contains an average of 8-12 olives trees. These parcels are divided by man-made dikes (80cm tall) called trafia which are designed for irrigation by flooding as they retain rain water. Trafia are unique, not only for Greek olive groves, but worldwide. These dikes, together with the constructed terraces along the hillsides of the Amfissa olive grove area, add to the aesthetic value and uniqueness of the local agricultural landscape. A specific agri-environmental scheme is being developed to maintain and protect the present characteristics of this unique and traditional olive grove.
23 February 2006
Simon Mortimer, John Finn and Jrgen Primdahl were all quoted in a recent Nature article in response to the findings of the EASY project.
6-7 February 2006
 The AE-Footprint project team invited 17 agri-environment policy-makers and researchers from across Europe to a two-day meeting in London on the 6-7th February 2006. The team gave presentations on the background to the project, the reviews conducted so far and the current structure of the Agri-Environmental Footprint Index.
The team invited questions from the PONE members and held discussion groups to gather feedback on the project.
The meeting was very successful with a large amount of constructive feedback for the project.
30 January - 1 February 2006
Several team members attended the End-Symposium of the EASY project in Wageningen, The Netherlands. Two posters were presented giving an overview of the AE-Footprint project and the review of impact models in WP4.
15-17 November 2005
Team meeting in Bergen-Enkheim, Frankfurt.
29 June 2005
Team meeting in Dublin, Ireland.
18-19 April 2005
Team meeting in Reading, UK.
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