Katie Garvey BSc (Hons), MSc

Department: Politics
Research Centre/Unit: Centre for Rural Policy Research

Project Summary

"Future Farming: An Investigation of the Likely Impact of Higher Energy Costs on SW Agriculture using Farm Business Survey data."

My research addresses the impacts of peak oil and climate change on agriculture. It aims to assess how dependent contemporary agriculture is on fossil fuels and petrochemicals. The research involves an analysis of Farm Business Survey (FBS) farm accounting data in order to determine which types of farming are more oil-dependent than others. The results of which will assist in determining the implications for farm profitability in the face of higher and more turbulent oil prices. This research aims to determine which farm management methods are most efficient in response to these issues.  

  • How dependent is modern industrial agriculture on oil?
  • Can the detailed FBS farm accounting data tell us which types of farming are less oil-dependent than others?
  • What are the implications for profitability of higher oil prices and what management steps can farmers take in response?
  • What are the prospects for reducing agriculture's dependency on oil?

Supervisory Team

  • Principle Supervisor: Prof. Michael Winter OBE, Director of the Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter
  • Second Supervisor: Dr. Matt Lobley, Senior Research Fellow / Assistant Director of Centre for Rural Policy Research, University of Exeter
  • Third Supervisor: Richard Soffe, Head of the Rural Business School at Duchy College; Director of Rural Business Research (RBR); Honorary Research Fellow, University of Exeter)

 

 

Wider Research Interests

The impact of oil/resource depletion on business and how organisations can mitigate this impact and even develop competitive advantage through crisis.

 

Authored Publications/Reports

Garvey, K. A. (2012) In: 'The Future of Land Use in the South West: Food, Water and Energy Security in the face of Environmental Change' (2012) Case Study 5: Anaerobic digestion: Sustainable solutions?, Big Dilemmas Symposium Report 2011/2012, pp. 37-38 http://www.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/campusservices/sustainability/pdf/Landuse_dilemmas_2012.pdf

Garvey, K. A. (2012) 'Global food security: the role of science and technology', Wilton Park Conference Report, (WP1189) , pp. 1-14 http://www.wiltonpark.org.uk/resources/en/pdf/22290903/2012/wp1189-report