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Abstract
It is recognised that following the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) farmers
may go through a period of transition where they evaluate the different production alternatives
available to them according to their existing situation, expectations and preferences. Drawing
on a survey of Scottish beef and sheep producers undertaken in mid-2006, the purpose of this
paper is to analyse the preferences of producers in relation to a number of possible economic
strategies for production adjustment following CAP reform. The results show that the nature
of adjustment is still uncertain, reflected in the high numbers of farmers that do not know
what strategy to follow or that will maintain the same production levels despite the reform.
However, a sizable percentage of farmers indicate their intentions to concentrate on the
production of high quality output.