How agriculture in britain changed

agricultural revolution

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agricultural revolution, gradual transformation of the traditional agricultural system that began in Britain in the 18th century. Aspects of this complex transformation, which was not completed until the 19th century, included the reallocation of land ownership to make farms more compact and an increased investment in technical improvements, such as new machinery, better drainage, scientific methods of breeding, and experimentation with new crops and systems of crop rotation.

Among those new crop-rotation methods was the Norfolk four-course system, established in Norfolk county, England, which emphasized fodder crops and the absence of the theretofore conventionally employed fallow year. Wheat was grown in the first year and turnips in the second, followed by barley, with clover and ryegrass undersown in the third. The clover and ryegrass were cut for feed or grazed in the fourth year. In the winter, cattle and sheep were fed the turnips. The development of Shorthorn beef cattle through selective breeding of local cattle of the Teeswater district, Durham county, typified the advances brought about by scientific breeding.

The historiography of the period that emphasized the contributions of “great men” has lost much of its influence, but the names Jethro Tull and Arthur Young are still frequently invoked by those seeking to understand the significance of the agricultural revolution, which was an essential prelude to the Industrial Revolution.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Jeff Wallenfeldt.

Agriculture of Great Britain. UK Agriculture Products

In the agricultural sector, a small partworking population of England: it is approximately 2-3%. This is not so much, even less than in most highly developed countries of the world. However, while UK agriculture supplies the domestic market with more than half of the agricultural products consumed by the population of the country. In this article we will consider the peculiarities of this branch of the economy in Great Britain, as well as mention the products produced and the state that imports and exports.

Features of modern agriculture in the UK

Modern Agriculture in Great Britainis considered one of the most effective in the world. The level of mechanization of farming is very high here. While fewer people work in this area, the number of products on individual items is growing.

As of 2012, the United Kingdom is locatedon the 6th place among the EU countries for the production of agricultural products. The total area of ​​agricultural land is 18.5 million hectares, that is 77% of the total area of ​​the country.

Separate branches of specialization in the UK in agriculture produce more than the domestic market needs. In this situation, the number of employees in the industry is falling.

As for agricultural areas, their number is gradually decreasing. The land previously used for crop production is transferred to livestock.

Specialization of Agriculture in Great Britain

The natural conditions that characterize landGreat Britain, to a greater extent contribute to the development of livestock. In the total value of agricultural products in Britain, livestock makes up three times as much as crop production.

Geographically, the agricultural specialization of Great Britain can be divided into the western part, the livestock sector, and the southeast, in which plant growing is more developed.

Livestock raising

Enterprises of agriculture predominantlyare engaged in the cultivation of meat and dairy cattle. The country gave the world many breeds of highly productive cattle. There are known meat breeds: Aberdeen-Angus, Shorthorn, Gerfordshire.

British breeding stock gives a considerable income. Throughout the world, you can see the herds of rocks that were bred here. For example, the largest livestock of Herfordshire cattle is not even in Britain, but in the territory of the former Soviet Union.

Poultry farming is actively developing in the territoriesaround the main consumption centers. Large and medium-sized cities are such centers. Poultry is grown on large, equipped with modern technology poultry farms. They also supply other poultry products.

Country of pasture

The lands of Foggy Albion are rich in naturalpastures. Therefore, Great Britain has long been called «Country of pastures», «Kingdom of pastures». Here, as if nature deliberately created wonderful conditions for the cultivation of a multimillion livestock.

Under pastures and haymaking used for animal husbandry, to date, three times more land than under grain crops.

The entire area occupied by livestock is about 12 million hectares with a total area of ​​24,360,000 hectares (243,600 km 2 ).

Decline of sheep breeding

UK Agriculture in the 20th centurywas characterized by a wide spread of sheep breeding. Large flocks of sheep could be seen in every corner of the country. A long period until the 20th century England was one of the most important suppliers of sheep’s wool in the world market. For all the time, about three dozen breeds of sheep were bred.

Since then, sheep breeding has begun to lose its position. Today, only 1% of all agricultural production falls on sheep wool. The remaining sheep farms work mainly for the production of lamb meat. The largest number of sheep farms is in Wales and Northern England. In the heyday of the sheep breeding in England, the sale of wool and wool products earned many. And in small settlements, and in cities business prospered. Sale of sheep’s wool, one might say, has become one of the foundations of the country’s present wealth. This fact is preserved in the symbols. So, traditionally, the Lord Chancellor is still sitting on a bag full of sheep’s wool.

Sheep farming has ceased to be a lucrative business, and business in the UK is almost never built on it. A lot of small and medium-sized farms are on the verge of ruin.

Crop production

According to experts, Britain’s agriculture is ready to supply wheat and barley to the foreign market following the results of a productive 2014.

The share of crop production in the country’s economy is low, mainly the industry is aimed at servicing livestock.

UK Agriculture Products

As we mentioned earlier, the rural sectorthe economy manages to satisfy most of the needs of the British population in its products. So, oats and barley, potatoes are grown in sufficient quantities. Enough in the country of poultry and eggs, pork, milk of its own production. Beef and veal are produced, but also imported.

Separately it is worth mentioning the products of sheep breeding. The cultivation of sheep in past centuries was of far greater significance than now.

Export and import of agricultural products

Half of the imported products areGreat Britain from the EU countries. Delivered to the country are products such as sugar, butter, cheese, beef, bacon, veal. The next most important importers are the USA, Israel, Argentina, Egypt, the countries of Central America and South Africa.

For export is crop production (barleyand wheat) and livestock (beef, lamb and others). Exports and imports of Great Britain are strictly regulated by the state and adhere to a very specific policy. Despite the fact that many goods are imported, the UK seeks to make agriculture a self-sufficient sphere of the economy.

State policy is aimed atmake agriculture products competitive in the foreign market and maintain an acceptable level of prices for goods for sale within the country. A system of measures has been developed to improve the living standards of people engaged in the agricultural sector and the productivity of the industry, as well as duties on imported products.

Summary

It is noteworthy that agricultureThe UK covers a significant part of the British needs in the products of the industry. Many different products are exported, but also some products are imported.

Exports and imports of Great Britain (specificallyproducts of agriculture) are produced in different directions. The closest economic relations between the UK and the EU countries. Recently, other areas have been actively developed. Trade in pedigree livestock is established practically with the whole world. As a supplier of sheep products, the country lost its leadership, held for several centuries, exporting mainly lamb meat.

In general, the agriculture of Great Britain today is one of the most productive in the world. At the same time, less and less population of the country works in this field.

We hope that our excursion into the agricultural world of Foggy Albion has helped you to spend time with benefit and interest.

Agriculture in the United Kingdom

Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses around 71% of the country’s land area and contributes about 0.6% of its gross value added. The UK produces less than 60% of the food it eats and the industry’s share of the national economy is declining. Despite skilled farmers, high technology, fertile soil and subsidies, which primarily come from the European Union, farm earnings are low and falling, mainly due to low prices at the farm gate. With each generation, fewer young people can afford the increasing capital cost of entry into farming and more are discouraged by low earnings. The average age of the British farm holder is now 59.

Recently there have been moves towards organic farming in an attempt to sustain profits, and many farmers now supplement their income by diversifying activities away from pure agriculture. Now, biofuels present new opportunities for farmers against a background of rising fears about fossil fuel prices, energy security, energy sustainability, and climate change. There is increasing awareness that farmers have an important role to play as custodians of the British countryside and wildlife.

The high cost of entry into farming presents a significant barrier. Land prices in the United Kingdom are high. Local authorities recognise this and some offer smallholdings intended to allow those with skill or training but little capital to set up as tenant farmers. Nevertheless, this provision is shrinking and there is an increasing shortage of farmland to let.

Contents

Overview

The total area on agricultural holdings is about 17.1 million hectares (43 million acres), or 18.3 million including rough grazing land, of which 6.2 million hectares (15.3 million acres) are croppable. During the growing season about half the croppable area is devoted to cereal crops, and of the cereal crop area, more than 65% is wheat. There are about 31 million sheep, 10 million cattle, 9.6 million poultry and 4.5 million pigs. These are arranged on almost 327,000 agricultural holdings, on which the average farmable area is around 54 hectares (130 acres) each. About 70% of farms are owner-occupied or mostly so, the remainder being tenant farmers. Farmers represent an ageing population, partly due to low earnings and barriers to entry, and there are ongoing difficulties in recruiting young people into farming. The average farm holder is now 59 years old. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ]

British farming is intensive and highly mechanised, but the country is so heavily populated that it cannot supply its own food needs. The United Kingdom is a net importer of food, producing only 59% of the food it consumes. In 2010, it exported £14 billion worth of food, feed and drink, and imported £32.5 billion. The vast majority of imports and exports are with other Western European countries. [ 5 ] [ 6 ]

Farming is subsidised, with subsidies to farmers totalling £3.19 billion (after deduction of levies) paid in 2010. These mostly originate from the EU Common Agricultural Policy. The UK receives the fifth largest agricultural subsidy in the EU, with 7% of the subsidy, after France (17%), Spain (13%), Germany (12%), and Italy (10%). There is downward pressure on the subsidies and on 19 November 2010, the EU announced a reform starting in 2013. At the Agriculture in the United Kingdom Seminar 2010, it was thought that subsidies will decrease over time, and that the number of farms and the number of farmers will continue to decline, while the derivatives and futures markets will become more important to farming. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ]

Output volume rose by 1.9% in 2010 compared to 2009, productivity increased 1.6%, and direct subsidies fell by 12%. Since 1973, productivity has grown by 49%, output volumes have increased by 25% and input volumes have fallen by 16%. [ 11 ]

History

1707 to 1750

The United Kingdom was created on 1 May 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union putting into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union. At this time, Jethro Tull, a Berkshire farmer, had recently invented his famous rotating-cylinder seed drill. His 1731 book, The New Horse Hoeing Husbandry, explained the systems and devices he espoused to improve agriculture and had such an impact that its influence can still be seen in some aspects of modern farming. Charles Townsend, a viscount known as «Turnip Townsend», retired from Parliament in 1730 and in the years between then and his death in 1738, introduced turnip farming on a large scale. This created four-crop rotation which allowed fertility to be maintained with much less fallow land. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] [ 14 ]

1750 to 1850

Between 1750 and 1850, the English population nearly tripled, from an estimated 5.7 million to an estimated 16.6 million, and all these people had to be fed from the domestic food supply. This was achieved through intensified agriculture and land reclamation from the Fens, woodlands, and upland pastures. The crop mix changed too, with wheat and rye replacing barley. Nitrogen fixing plants such as legumes led to sustainable increased yields. These increased yields, combined with improved farming machinery and then-new capitalist ways of organising labour, meant that increased crop production did not require much more manpower, which freed up more people for non-agricultural work. Indeed, by 1850 Britain had the smallest proportion of its population engaged in farming of any country in the world, at 22%. [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ]

However, this period included a twenty-year depression in agriculture that started with the end of the Napoleonic Wars and lasted until 1836. So severe was this depression that landlords as well as tenants suffered financial ruin, and large areas of farmland were entirely abandoned. This showed the problems of the ancient landlord and tenant system in running new-style, capital-intensive farms, and it caused concern in Parliament. The system began to distinguish between farm improvements that the tenant should fund, and those the landlord should fund. [ 18 ]

Parliament repealed the Corn Laws in 1846. This steadied prices, but agriculture remained prosperous. At that time, Parliament was concerned with the issue of tenant right, i.e. the sum payable to an outgoing tenant for farm improvements that the tenant had funded and, if crops were in the ground when the tenant left, compensation for their value. This was down to local custom and the custom in one place might be very different to another. In 1848 a parliamentary committee examined the possibility of a standardised system, but no Bill on this matter passed through Parliament until 1875. [ 19 ]

1850 to 1945

The American Civil War ended in 1865, and by 1875, with new steam-powered railways and ships, the United States was exporting a substantial excess of cereals. At the same time, Britain suffered a series of poor harvests. By 1891 reliable refrigeration technology brought frozen meat from Australia, New Zealand and South America to the British market, and Parliament felt it had to intervene to support British farming. The Agricultural Holdings (England) Act 1875 revamped the law on tenant right such that tenants received consistent levels of compensation for the value of their improvements to the holding and any crops in the ground. It also gave tenants the right to remove fixtures they had provided, increased the period of a Notice to Quit from six months to twelve, and brought in an agricultural dispute resolution procedure. [ 20 ]

Some Landlords reacted to the 1875 Act by refusing to let land on a tenancy, instead contracting out the labour to contract farmers. Parliament responded with the Agricultural Holdings (England) Act 1883, which prevented contracting out on terms less favourable than a normal tenancy. Subsequent Agricultural Holdings Acts in 1900 and 1906 further refined the dispute resolution procedure; required landlords to compensate tenants for their damaged crops if the damage was caused by game that the landlord did not allow tenants to kill; allowed tenants to choose for themselves what crops to grow, except in the last year of the tenancy; and prevented penal rents being charged except in special circumstances. The mass of legislation was consolidated in another Act of 1908. Further Agricultural Holdings Acts came into force in 1914, two in 1920, and a further consolidating Act in 1923. [ 21 ]

The country’s mood during this period was affected by the First World War. There was a national feeling that a man who had fought for his country should be entitled to retire to a smallholding on British land that would provide him with a livelihood. This led to various initiatives, collectively called Homes for Heroes. By 1926 agricultural law had become openly redistributive in favour of ex-servicemen. County Councils had compulsory purchase powers to requisition land they could let as smallholdings on which ex-servicemen were the preferred tenants. The tenant could then buy the land from the Council, and could require the Council to lend them money to fund the purchase as a mortgage. The council could only refuse with the Minister of Agriculture’s permission. [ 22 ]

The invention of the digging plough was around 1885. It leaves no detectable furrows and breaks the land so that a seed drill can be used for planting. Earlier ploughs were simply large hoes for stirring the soil, drawn by animals, that left furrows suitable for distribution of seed by hand. [ 23 ]

1945 to present

The Agriculture Act 1947 broadly revamped agricultural law. It was a reaction to the privations of the Second World War, and was aimed at food security, so as to reduce the risk of a hostile foreign power being able to starve the UK into submission. The Act guaranteed prices, markets and tenure, so that a farmer could be assured that his land would not be taken away and whatever he grew would be sold at a known price. Yet another consolidating Agricultural Holdings Act followed it in 1948. These Acts made it harder to evict tenant farmers. With the new security tenants enjoyed, a system of rent reviews was necessary to take account of land price inflation. There were many other changes in the law, and each of these Acts required negotiations between the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Farmers Union (NFU) to fix the support price to be paid for each agricultural product. They were enacted in a series of Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Acts in 1949, 1954, 1963, 1968 and 1972. [ 24 ]

The Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1976 was another far-reaching revamp of the law. At the time it was passed, the Lib-Lab Pact of 1976 needed Plaid Cymru’s support in Parliament, and the provisions of this Act were part of Plaid Cymru’s price for their vote. This Act allowed for succession of agricultural tenancies, so on a farmer’s death, a relative with relevant skills or experience and no holding of his own could inherit the tenancy. This was limited to two generations of tenant. [ 25 ]

On government instructions, the Northfield Committee began to review the country’s agricultural system in 1977. It did not report until July 1979, by which time Margaret Thatcher’s administration held power. The report influenced ongoing discussions between the NFU and the Country Landowners Association (CLA), who were trying to reach an agreement on new Agricultural Holdings legislation that could be presented to Parliament as having industry-wide support. This was agreed in 1984, but the two sides had not been able to agree a fundamental change to the security of tenure legislation. It did change the succession rules for existing tenancies such that a farmer might pass on his tenancy on retirement as well as on death—but no new tenancies from 1984 were to include succession rights. [ 26 ]

By this time the then European Economic Community (now the European Community)’s Common Agricultural Policy was having a direct impact on farming. The Agriculture Act 1986 was concerned with the value of the milk quota attached to land, and particularly how it ought to be shared between landlord and tenant. Nowadays, milk quotas are worth less, but other subsidies (largely rolled up into Single Payments) still need to be divided between the parties. [ 27 ]

Economics

Total income from farming in the United Kingdom was £4.38 billion in 2010, representing about 0.6% of the British national value added in that year. This is a decline of 4.3% in real terms on 2009 and a decline of more than 45% since 1995. Earnings are comparatively low, at £23,953 per full-time person in 2010, which represented a fall of 3.4% from 2009 values in real terms. Agriculture employs 466,000 people, representing 1.52% of the workforce, down more than 32% since 1996. In terms of gross value added in 2009, 83% of the UK’s agricultural income originated from England, 9% from Scotland, 4% from Northern Ireland and 3% from Wales. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] [ 30 ]

Most farmers of beef cattle or sheep made another net loss in the year to April 2010. Production, veterinary, bedding, property, power and machinery costs all underwent double-digit rises in percentage terms, meaning that the losses in the year to April 2010 increased over last year’s losses by over £30/animal. However, wheat exports were much stronger than the previous year. [ 34 ]

The UK’s egg-laying flock is in decline. It fell by 5½% in one year from June 1999 to May 2000. In 1971, there were 125,258 farms with egg-laying hens. By 1999 this was down to 26,500. [ 35 ]

Soil is a complex mix of mineral and organic components, produced when rock is weathered and acted on by living organisms. In the British Isles as far south as the Thames Valley, the soil has been heavily glaciated, which not only ground down the rock but redistributed the resulting matter. As a result, most British soils date from the last Ice Age and are comparatively young, but in level areas and particularly south of the Thames Valley, there are much older soils. Most British soils are 2% to 5% organic and 95% to 98% mineral, but soils such as peat may contain up to 50% organic matter. [ 36 ]

Rainfall in Britain exceeds the rate of evaporation. This means that in freely drained areas, soil base material is washed away, which leads to a higher concentration of organic acids in the ground. Thus many British soils are quite acidic, and a large proportion of British farm land needs repeated applications of alkalines (traditionally lime) to remain fertile. Nitrites are also soluble, and the soil has no power to hold them, so rain rapidly carries them away. Acid rain increases soil acidity, but even normal rain tends to be slightly acid, which acidifies British soil. [ 37 ] [ 38 ]

Soffe (2003) [ 39 ] summarises the acidity of British soils as follows:-

This relatively high soil acidity is one of the factors that lead to liming. Lime tends to counteract soil acidity, and with fine particulate soils such as clays, also encourages the formation of a better soil crumb structure that will aerate and help with drainage. Its benefits have been known, if not scientifically understood, since Roman times.

Owing to high rainfall in the UK, less freely drained areas tend to become waterlogged and need to be drained. Wet land may be unable to bear a tractor’s weight, and drainage makes soil lighter and more easily worked, improves crops’ ability to absorb food because there is more root surface area, stimulates helpful micro-organisms and allows accumulated poisons to be carried away. In Britain field drains are traditionally open ditches, but increasingly, covered pipes have been used in more modern times. Earthworms are important for creating small drainage channels in the soil and helping to move soil particles. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] [ 42 ]

Soil temperature is a key aspect of its fertility. No appreciable plant growth takes place at temperatures below 4°C. The growth rate increases as temperature rises, up to a maximum limit which is of no relevance to the British Isles. Dark soils tend to absorb more heat, and are therefore preferred.

As crops grow, they absorb nutrients from the soil, so land fertility degrades over time. However, if organic matter poor in nitrogen but rich in carbohydrate is added to the soil, nitrogen is assimilated and fixed. Fertility increases while land is under grass, which helps to accumulate organic matter in the soil. These factors mean that soil is traditionally improved by means of liming, draining, and allowing to lie fallow. It is traditionally fertilised with manure, nitrogen, phosphates, and potash. [ 43 ]

Manure, nitrogen and Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ)

170 million tonnes of animal excreta is produced annually in the UK. The resulting slurry can pollute watercourses, draining them of oxygen, can contain pathogenic microorganisms such as salmonella, and creates an unpleasant odour that causes complaints. Pigs and poultry, in particular, which tend to be produced intensively on very large holdings with a relatively small land area for the number of animals, create manure that increasingly tends to be processed, either by removing the liquid component and transporting it away, or by composting it, or more recently, by anaerobic digestion to produce methane which is later converted to electricity. In 2011, an increase in the feed in tariff for small-scale biogas production from anaerobic digestion has increased the financial viability of this last option. [ 44 ] [ 45 ]

Farmyard manure is among the best all-round soil fertilisers. Urine contains about half the nitrogen and most of the potash that an animal voids, but tends to drain away, making it both the richest and the most easily lost element of manure. Dung contains the other half of the nitrogen and most of the phosphoric acid and lime. With dung, much of the nitrogen is lost in storage or locked up in slowly released forms, so greater quantities of dung are necessary compared to artificial fertilisers. Manure is most effective when ploughed into the fields while it is still fresh, but this is not practical while crops are growing and in practice, most manure is stored and then applied in winter, or else added in ridges for the root crops. [ 46 ] [ 47 ]

Leguminous plants such as peas, beans or lucerne live in a symbiotic relationship with certain bacteria that produce nodules on their roots. The bacteria extract nitrogen from the air and convert it to nitrogenating compounds that benefit the legume. When the legume dies or is harvested, its rotting roots nitrogenate the soil. Nitrogen stimulates plant growth, but overapplication softens the plant tissues, makes them more vulnerable to pests and disease, and reduces resistance to frost. It may be added by nitrogen-fixing crops, but many farmers prefer artificial fertilisers, which are quicker. The negative side-effects of adding nitrogen are mitigated by phosphates. [ 48 ]

Nitrogen from soil gets into the water, and can be hazardous to human health. EC Directive 80/778/EEC and 91/676/EEC both mention a ceiling acceptable level of nitrates of 50 mg/litre, which is also the level recommended by the World Health Organisation. In several places in Britain, particularly in the midlands and the south-east, nitrate concentrations occasionally exceed this level and the government has brought in regulations to control nitrate levels in the water. The regulations governing designated Nitrate Vulnerable Zones (NVZ) aim to protect ground and surface water from contamination with nitrates and manure. The Nitrates Directive was reviewed and expanded in 2008, and with the 2008 expansion, from 1 January 2009 around 68% of English farmland, 14% of Scottish farmland and 4% of Welsh farmland is within a NVZ. The NVZ rules control at what time of year farmers may apply nitrogen or manure to the land and oblige them to keep strict records of nitrogen-containing substances used. They also regulate slurry and manure storage. [ 49 ] [ 50 ] [ 51 ]

Phosphates and potash

Phosphates stimulate root development in young plants and are therefore particularly valuable for root crops. They also increase yields and speed up plant growth generally. Phosphates are not easily lost from soil, but they mostly occur in very stable forms that are not liberated quickly enough by natural processes, so fertilisation is necessary. Traditionally, phosphate-bearing materials added to soil include bonemeal, powdered slag, and seaweed. [ 52 ]

Plants tend to absorb potash during early stages of growth, and potash tends to reduce the problems caused by applying nitrogen. It also increases the weight of an individual cereal grain. Traditional potash sources included applying ash to the land and ploughing in crop residues after the harvest, and artificial potash fertilisers were not used until deposits of potash salts were discovered in Germany in 1861. [ 53 ]

Arable farming

Arable farming is the production of crops. As with all plants, crop growth is affected by light, soil, nutrients, water, air, and climate. Crops commonly grown in the United Kingdom include cereals, chiefly wheat, oats and barley; root vegetables, chiefly potatoes and sugar beet; pulse crops such as beans or peas; forage crops such as cabbages, vetches, rape and kale; fruit, particularly apples and pears; and hay for animal feed. From 1992 until 2004, or 2006 for organic farms, there were subsidies for not growing any crops at all. This was called set-aside and resulted from EEC farming policies. From 2007 onwards, set aside subsidies in the UK were withdrawn. [ 54 ]

Seeds may be sown in spring, summer or autumn. Spring-sown crops are vulnerable to drought in May or June. Autumn sowing is usually restricted to frost-hardy types of bean, vetch, or cereal such as winter wheat. Traditional sowing techniques include broadcasting, dibbling, drilling, and ploughing in. Drilling is normally the most economical technique where conditions are dry enough. [ 55 ] [ 56 ]

In 2009, 3,133,000 hectares (7,740,000 acres) of cereal crops were sown in the UK. There were 581,000 hectares (1,440,000 acres) of oil seed rape, 233,000 hectares (580,000 acres) of peas and beans, 149,000 hectares (370,000 acres) of potatoes, and 116,000 hectares (290,000 acres) of sugar beet. Winter crops tend to be planted around mid-September, and spring crops as soon as the soil is ready. [ 57 ] [ 58 ] [ 59 ]

Ploughing is not always regarded as essential nowadays, but the plough can improve soil by inverting it to improve soil aeration and drainage, release plant food through weathering, and expose harmful pests to predators. It is also an effective method of weed control. Ploughing depth in Britain varies between 5-6 inches in some limestone regions to up to 18 inches in deep stoneless silt land. Most British ploughs are made to turn a furrow of up to about a foot deep, which is relatively shallow compared to some other countries, where furrows of up to 16 inches are common. Other machines used to prepare land include cultivators (to break up land too heavy for a normal plough), harrows (to level the surface of ploughed land), rolls or rollers (used for firming the soil), sprayers and dusters (used to spread herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and fertilisers). [ 60 ]

Reaping is the process of harvesting a crop. Traditionally reaping was done with the scythe and reaping hook, but in Britain these have been entirely superseded by machinery. Combine harvesters, so called because they both harvest and thresh the crop, are common. Other machines used include mowers, reapers, binders, harvesters, pea cutters and flax pullers. [ 61 ] Once reaped, some crops are brought directly to market. Others need to be threshed to separate the cash crop from the straw and chaff. Wheat, oats, barley, beans and some kinds of small seed (e.g. clover) typically need to be threshed. [ 62 ]

Since the Second World War, scientific and technical progress and the removal of tenancy-based restrictions on choice of crop have given British arable farmers a great deal more freedom to plan cropping sequences. Strict crop rotation is no longer technically necessary or even financially desirable. Factors that influence crop sequences include the soil type, weather, the price and availability of labour and power, market outlets, and technical considerations about maintaining soil fertility and crop health. For example, some vigorous crops such as kale or arable silage will, when liberally fertilised, tend to outgrow and smother weeds. Many pests and diseases are crop-specific and the more often a particular crop is taken, the greater the buildup of pests and diseases that attack it.

The farmer will therefore try to design a sequence to sustain high yields, permit adequate weed control, service market needs, and keep the soil free from diseases and pests.

Diseases

Most diseases of crop plants result from fungus spores that may live in the soil and enter through roots, be airborne and enter the plant through damaged areas or landing on leaf surfaces, or are spread by pests. These spores tend to affect photosynthesis and reduce chlorophyll, often making plants look yellow and affecting growth and marketability of the crop. They are most commonly treated with fungicides, and may be called mildews, rusts, blotches, scabs, wilts, rots or blights. European Union regulations on pesticides are changing, and several important pesticides currently in use will no longer be available. This has potentially quite serious implications for British agriculture. [ 63 ] [ 64 ] [ 65 ]

Two of the most serious diseases currently affecting crop plants are colony collapse disorder (CCD), a somewhat mysterious effect that is wiping out honeybee colonies worldwide, and varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that also affects honeybees and may be a contributor to CCD. Honeybees pollinate 80% of plants worldwide. In 2007, up to 80% of the bee colonies in some areas were wiped out. Honeybees pollinate crops worth about £200 million a year, and their total contribution to the economy may be as high as £1 billion. [ 66 ]

Weeds

Historically weed control was by hand-pulling of weeds, often during «fallowing» (which means leaving the land to carry no crop for a season, during which time the weeds can be found and removed). In 1896 it was found that a copper sulphate solution would kill broad-leaved weeds without seriously damaging young cereal plants. Other chemical weedkillers were soon discovered and now common chemical weedkiller ingredients include sodium chlorate, copper chloride, sulphuric acid, dinitroorthocresol and dinitrobutylphenol. Hormone-based weedkillers are used to kill weeds more selectively. Although most weeds are vulnerable to at least one of these substances, eradicating all the weeds from a particular area of land will usually require the use of several different weedkillers. The use of pesticides has declined in recent years, and British farmers now use about a third less pesticides than they did in 1983. The crop needing most pesticides is wheat. [ 67 ] [ 68 ] [ 69 ] [ 70 ]

Table of important crop weeds

Pests

Pests damage crops by removing leaf area, severing roots, or simply gross damage. In the UK, they comprise invertebrates (chiefly nematodes, slugs and insects or insect larvae), mammals (particularly rabbits) and birds (mainly members of the pigeon family). The damage caused by crop pests is considerable. For example, potato cyst nematodes cause over £50 million damage a year in the UK. [ 72 ] [ 65 ]

Table of important crop pests

Pastoral farming

Pastoral farming is the breeding of livestock for meat, wool, eggs and milk, and historically (in the UK) for labour. Livestock products are the main element of the UK’s agricultural output. The most common meat animals in the United Kingdom are cattle, pigs, sheep and poultry. Overwhelmingly, British wool comes from sheep, with only a few goats or alpacas bred for exotic wools such as cashmere or angora. The vast majority of milk comes from cattle, and eggs from chickens. [ 74 ]

Most British farm animals are bred for a particular purpose, so for example, there is a sharp division between cattle bred for the beef trade—early-maturing cattle are best to increase yield, and those that store fat marbled within the muscle rather than as layers outside are preferred for the flavour—and those bred for dairy, where animals with a high milk yield are strongly preferred. Nevertheless, because dairy cattle must calve to produce milk, much of the British beef output is from surplus dairy herd calves. [ 75 ] [ 76 ]

Cattle farming

There are about 17,000 dairy farms in the UK, largely in the west. Average herd size is 86 cows in England, 75 in Wales and 102 in Scotland. Most cows are milked twice a day, and an average dairy cow yields 6,300 litres a year. The most important dairy cattle breed is the ubiquitous British Friesian, which has largely replaced the Dairy Shorthorn in British dairy herds thanks both to its high milk yield and the relatively high quality of the beef it produces. [ 77 ] [ 78 ]

The UK once produced roughly as much beef as it ate, but this changed in 1996 because of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The BSE crisis led to regulations preventing animals more than 30 months old from entering the food chain, which meant cull cows could no longer be sold for beef. Just under 6 million cattle over this age were destroyed. A Calf Purchase Aid Scheme, under which a further nearly 2 million calves were slaughtered, ended in 1999. In 2002, the UK produced 72% of the beef it ate. Important beef cattle breeds include the Hereford, which is the most popular British beef breed, and the Aberdeen Angus. The once-widespread Beef Shorthorn is now a relatively uncommon sight. [ 79 ]

Cows require significant areas of grassland to raise. Dairy cows need 0.4 to 0.5 hectares per cow, including the area needed for winter silage; suckler beef cows can need up to a whole hectare each. The UK produces very little veal, and UK law requires that animals are kept in daylight in groups with bedding and access to hay, silage or straw. This produces «pink» veal which grows more slowly and is less desirable to the continental customer. [ 80 ] [ 81 ]

Sheep farming

Over 41,000 farms in the UK produce sheep, but more than half of breeding ewes are on hill or upland farms suitable for little else. National Parks and heather moors such as the Lake District, the Pennines and Snowdonia in Wales are dominated by sheep farms, as are the Scottish Highlands. In the lowlands, pockets of sheep farms remain. Romney Marsh (which gave its name to the Romney sheep) and The Downs in Kent are famous for their sheep. [ 82 ]

The number of sheep farmed in the UK peaked in 1998 at 20.3 million, as a result of the Sheepmeat Regime, a relatively generous EU support initiative first begun in 1980. Numbers declined following the 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth, and the UK temporarily lost its place as Europe’s largest producer of lamb, although this was recovered later. (Although it is Europe’s largest producer, the UK is nevertheless a net importer of lamb, often from New Zealand.) [ 83 ]

Nowadays many ewes are housed indoors for lambing, which costs more but facilitates earlier lambing with lower mortality and replacement rates. It also rests and protects the grassland, leading to better early growth and higher stocking rates. Sheep are also important in helping to manage the landscape. Their trampling hinders bracken spread and prevents heather moor from reverting to scrub woodland. Wool production is no longer important in the UK, and nowadays, sheared fleeces are often treated as a waste product. [ 84 ]

Pig farming

About 4,600 farms produce pigs, and the UK is 90% self-sufficient in pork, but only about 40% self-sufficient in bacon and ham, which reflects a traditional British preference for these cuts. Nowadays many pig farms in the UK breed intensively-farmed hybrids of types like the large white, British Landrace, Welsh or British Saddleback, and formerly-popular breeds like the Cumberland and small white are extinct. Wild Boar are sometimes farmed. They are presently covered under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976 and farmers need permission from their local authority to keep them. [ 85 ] [ 86 ]

The UK pig herd is declining, and there are now some units in the US that have more sows than there are in the UK in total. Pigs often used to be kept indoors throughout their lives, but welfare concerns and increased costs have led to more outdoor units, and by 2002 30% of sows were outdoors. In many countries sows are kept tethered in individual stalls, but this system was banned in the UK in 1999, and indoor sows are now housed in groups. Each sow produces an average of 24 piglets a year and will be pregnant or lactating for 340 days a year. This intensive production wears the sows out and about 40% of them need to be replaced each year. [ 87 ]

A major byproduct of pig production is slurry. One sow and her piglets can produce ten tonnes of slurry a year. Because regulations limit how much slurry can be loaded onto a given area of land, this means that each sow with her progeny will manure at least 0.8 hectares. This is a problem because pig manure is mildly toxic, owing to the use of copper as a growth enhancer. [ 88 ]

Other livestock

The UK has about 73,000 goats, mostly as milk producers; this number is relatively small by EU standards. [ Notes 1 ] Venison production in the UK is mainly from red deer, with a few fallow deer as well, but there are only about 300 venison-producing farms. As noted above, there are about 26,500 farms with chickens. However, more than half the UK’s eggs come from fewer than 400 flocks, mostly with more than 50,000 birds each. [ 90 ] [ 91 ]

Livestock movement and record-keeping

Farmers wanting to move their livestock outside their own farms must obey the Disease Control (England) Order 2003, the Disease Control (Wales) Order 2003 or the Disease Control (Interim Measures) (Scotland) Order 2002, as applicable. This means a farmer needs a licence from the Local Authority to move livestock. There are also minimum «standstill» periods once livestock has been moved, so for example, a farmer buying new cattle and moving them onto his farm must then wait six days before taking other cattle to market. Most livestock must be identified. Each individual cow must have a «passport» issued by the British Cattle Movement Service. Other farm animals such as sheep, goats or pigs must have a herd mark. [ 92 ] [ 93 ]

Disease

Designated notifiable diseases under the Diseases of Animals Act include anthrax, foot-and-mouth disease, fowl pest, bovine tuberculosis, BSE, scrapie, swine vesicular disease, Aujeszky’s disease, enzootic bovine leucosis, rabies and warble fly. Under the Zoonoses Order conditions that can be transmitted to humans, such as brucellosis or salmonella, must also be notified. [ 94 ]

The United Kingdom suffered outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in 1967 and 2001, with a less serious outbreak in 2007. There was also an outbreak of bluetongue in 2007. The most serious disease to affect British agriculture was BSE, a cattle brain disease that causes a similar disease in some humans who eat infected meat. It has killed 166 people in Britain since 1994. [ 95 ] [ 96 ]

A current issue is the control of bovine tuberculosis, which can also be carried by badgers. It is alleged that the badgers are infecting the cows. A scientific report for the government recommended a selective cull of badgers, which immediately met with opposition from other scientists. The government is currently consulting on this issue. As of 16 September 2011, a total of 27 online petitions had attracted 65,000 signatures opposing the plan. [ 97 ] [ 98 ] [ 99 ] [ 100 ]

Animal welfare

Animal welfare legislation affecting UK agriculture includes the Animal Welfare Act 2006, the Welfare of Farmed Animals Regulations 2007 and the Welfare of Animals (Transport) Order 1997. The UK has a good reputation for animal welfare, and there are several codes of practice. [ 101 ]

Animal welfare [ Notes 2 ] as an issue is increasingly important to the European Union. Although welfare-conscious husbandry can have economic benefits to the farmer, because a happy animal puts on weight more rapidly and will reproduce more easily, the mere fact that an animal is gaining weight or reproducing does not necessarily indicate a high level of animal welfare. Generally there is a tension between the minimum acceptable level of animal welfare for the consumer, the price of the product, and an acceptable margin for the farmer. This tension is resolved by food labelling that enables the consumer to select the price they are prepared to pay for a given level of animal welfare. So for example, some consumers prefer to buy free range eggs even where these are more expensive than eggs from battery hens. Nowadays, there are various welfare assurance schemes in response to consumer pressure. [ Notes 3 ] [ 103 ] [ 104 ] [ 105 ]

Current issues in British agriculture

Organic farming

Organic farming is farming without chemical fertilisers, animal cruelty, most pesticides, genetic modification, or the routine use of drugs, antibiotics or wormers. In the United Kingdom it is supported and encouraged by the Soil Association. The Food Standards Agency says that organic food offers no additional nutritional benefits over the non-organic kind, though the Soil Association disputes this. However, there are definite benefits in terms of conservation and wildlife. In the UK as in most of northern Europe, organic crop yields can be 40%-50% lower than conventional, more intensive farming and labour use can be 10%-25% higher. [ 106 ] [ 107 ] [ 108 ] [ 109 ] [ 110 ]

The Organic Aid Scheme came into effect in 1994, providing grants to fund farmers wishing to convert to organic farming. By the end of 1997 about 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres) had been converted under the scheme, at a cost totalling £750,000. In 2000 it increased to 525,000 hectares (1,300,000 acres), and between 1996 and 2000, the number of organic farms increased from 865 to 3500. The global market for organic food is worth £1.2 billion a year and is increasing. The UK’s share of the European organic farming market is about 10%. [ 111 ] [ 112 ] [ 113 ] [ 114 ]

Biofuel

Biofuels are fuels derived from biomass. They can be used in their pure form to power vehicles, but most commonly they are blended with traditional fuels such as diesel. In 2003, the European Union saw biofuels as an answer to several problems: climate change, energy security and stimulating the rural economy, and agreed the Biofuels Directive to see that production was kickstarted. In 2008, the Gallagher Review expressed concern about the effects of the biofuels initiative and identified the conversion of agricultural land to biofuels production as a factor in rising food prices. The current recommended option is that farmers should use marginal or waste land to produce biofuels and maintain production of food on prime agricultural land. [ 115 ]

The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation («RTFO») obliges fuel suppliers to see that a certain proportion of the fuel they sell comes from renewable sources. The target for 2009/10 is 3.25% by volume. This presents a potentially useful source of revenue for some farmers. [ 116 ]

Biofuel crops grown in the UK include oilseed rape (which is also grown for other purposes), short-rotation coppices such as poplar or willow, and miscanthus. Unfortunately biofuels are quite bulky for their energy yield, which means processing into fuel needs to happen near where the crop is grown; otherwise, most or all of the benefit of biofuels can be lost in transporting the biofuel to the processing area. Such local processing units are not generally available in the UK, and further expansion of this market will depend on politics and industrial finance. [ 117 ]

Diversification

Many farmers struggle to make ends meet from a purely agricultural income, and therefore supplement their finances through non-farming activities. This is called diversification. Since time immemorial sporting rights over farmland, for hunting or trapping game, have had commercial value; nowadays, grouse shooting, deer stalking and fishing are important sporting activities. Fox hunting previously went on, but has been banned in the United Kingdom since February 2005. [ 118 ] [ 119 ]

There are a huge number of ways of diversifying. Farmland may, for example, be converted to equestrian facilities, amenity parkland, country clubs, hotels, golf courses, camping and caravan sites. Farmers open shops, restaurants and even pubs to sell their products. [ 120 ]

There is grant funding available for diversification schemes, as well as other farming initiatives, to improve competitiveness in the farming sector, through the Rural Development Programme for England. The scheme runs until 2013, is managed through Defra and has been delivered to date through Regional Development Agencies. Expenditure on the Rural Development Programme for England will remain around £3.7 billion for the 2007-13 programme period, compared with the original planned budget of about £3.9 billion. [ 121 ]

Custodianship

It was first suggested that farmers could be paid for «producing countryside» in 1969, but the real beginning of positive agri-environmental policy came with the Agriculture Act 1986. The Countryside Stewardship Scheme and local equivalents were run by the Countryside Commission and the Countryside Council for Wales from 1991 until 1996, when they came under ministry control. Nowadays schemes to encourage farmers to think about wildlife conservation and to farm in an environmentally friendly way abound, though actual payments to farmers to support this are comparatively modest. [ 122 ]

When EU subsidy regime changes in 2013, farmers will receive a greater proportion of their payments from «management of natural resources and climate action.» This forms one of the three «principal objectives» of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy. Details will need to await the 2011 budget. [ 123 ] [ 124 ]

Barriers to entry

In the 1930s land with vacant possession cost an average of £60 per hectare. In 1996 it cost £8,795 per hectare. Between those times retail prices rose by a factor of 35, but agricultural land prices rose by a factor of well over 100. The most extreme change was in 1972, during which year the price per acre more than doubled. Today farming land remains scarce and much in demand, and the market is still rising even in the current recession. Thus the only option for someone who lacks capital for land purchase but wants to farm is to rent land as a tenant farmer. Rents increased by 24% in the year to 25 March 2011. The average across all farms in England, Wales and Scotland is now £70/acre, up from £57/acre; dairy farms cost £80 per acre on average, and arable farms now cost £99 per acre. [ 125 ] [ 126 ] [ 127 ] [ 128 ]

Historically tenant farmers, as peasants or villeins, had been exploited and starting in 1875, successive governments enacted legislation to protect them. This trend culminated in the Agricultural Holdings Act 1986, [ Notes 4 ] which consolidated and built on a century-long trend in the law. This Act was so onerous towards landlords that they were reluctant to let land. It became so hard to obtain a tenancy that the farming industry supported reform, which was enacted in the Agricultural Tenancies Act 1995. Nowadays most new tenancies in England and Wales are Farm Business Tenancies under the 1995 Act, but the 1986 Act tenancies that are still in force allow for succession, and can be passed down through up to two generations of tenant. The most common route of entry into farming is to succeed to a holding, whether as owner or tenant, so a person’s ability to farm is often determined by their family background rather than their skills or qualifications. [ 129 ]

County farms

«County farms are the only consistent route of entry into agriculture for young people.»
Carolyn Rule, Cabinet member, Cornwall County Council. [ 131 ]

Fifty County Councils and Unitary Authorities in England and Wales offer tenancies on smallholdings (called «County Farms») as an entry route into agriculture, but this provision is shrinking. Between 1984 and 2006, the amount of land available as County Farms shrank from 137,664 hectares (340,180 acres) to 96,206 hectares (237,730 acres), a reduction of 30%. The number of tenants on these smallholdings shrank by 58% in the same period to about 2,900. County Farms yielded an operational surplus of £10.6 million to local authorities in the financial year 2008-9. Although County Farms are the main route into farming for new entrants, Local Authorities are under increasing pressure to dispose of County Farms to obtain capital receipts, and some now manage their estate for purposes other than creating a first rung on the farming ladder. Somerset County Council proposes to sell 35 of its 62 County Farms. [ 132 ] [ 133 ] [ 134 ]

As of March 2009, 39% of County Farms were of 50 acres (20 ha) or smaller, 31% of 50 acres (20 ha) to 100 acres (40 ha), and 30% of 100 acres (40 ha) or more. [ 134 ]

See also

References

External links

How agriculture in britain changed

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The British Agricultural Revolution, which is also referred to as the Second Agricultural Revolution, marks a period of transition from traditional to modern farming systems. It was a time of technological innovation and increased crop productivity, which took place during the 18th century.

This complex transformation, which was not finalized immediately, included the relocation of land ownership and increased investments in new machinery. Before this important turning point in history, conventional methods of farming were deployed that led to accelerating overgrazing, uncontrolled breeding, and the spread of zoonotic diseases.

It would be a huge mistake to think that significant changes in agricultural practices and productivity did not take place elsewhere. French agriculture, for instance, experienced labour productivity, which is no little thing considering the fact that it was relatively inactive between 1500 and 1789. What is important to keep in mind is that agricultural change is continuous and the existence of such a phenomenon is not something that can be ignored, leading to cultural transformations that enable people to change for the better.

What factors contributed to the British Agricultural Revolution?

The Agricultural Revolution caused an unforeseen increase in agricultural output in Britain, which was largely due to increases in the number of workers, not to mention land productivity. Undoubtedly, the British advanced at a fast rate as compared to other European countries. The increasing of productivity of farms in the course of the 18th century can be attributed to the following factors:

A supportive environment. English farmers made great efforts to enhance soil fertility by diversifying crops and playing with new methods of fertilization so as to counteract the effects of cooling climate conditions. Britain dealt with a period of extremely cold winters, temperatures being lower than average, and extreme weather events.

Farmland expansion. The acts of parliamentary legislation with regard to land enclosure were mostly favourable, promoting land consolidation. They also set the foundation for land ownership in Britain. Large pieces of land could be used for cultivating plants and livestock. The first agricultural cooperatives were formed, which enabled innovation and the spread of ideas.

Increased livestock numbers. Livestock plays an important role in terms of the food supply. The boost in livestock brought about significant change in the way people ate and, most importantly, soil fertility. Manure increased and maintained soil fertility by ensuring the necessary nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, calcium, and so on. The agrarian revolution increased livestock yields by enhancing soil fertility and reducing fallow land.

A wide variety of machinery was developed

English farmers had an advantage because they could deploy more animal power and had all sorts of machinery at their disposal. Agricultural apparatus changed considerably during the 18th century. Advancements in technology were made, so it was impossible for farming to stay the same. Innovations that are worth mentioning are the seed drill, which sows the crops by placing them in the soil and burying them at a specific length. This neat device was invented by Jethro Tull, who also crafted the horse-drawn hoe and an improved plough. These pieces are regarded as ground-breaking developments in the 18th century.

Let us not forget about the steam power that increased the daily production of threshing. If in the beginning steam tractors were big and hard to maneuver, they later on became semi-portable and could be used for a great many agricultural tasks. Examples include hauling small loads on public roads. The modern equivalent would be telehandler. Telehandlers lift more, reach farther, and push harder as compared to tractors. Getting back on topic, the growing use of steam power made possible the invention of the steamboat that enabled more affordable transport. With an improved infrastructure in place, items could travel across the nation, which in turn helped the country boost trade.

Last but not least, there is the threshing machine that separates grain from corn or other crops. Invented in the 18th century by Andrew Meike, the threshing machine contributed to the restructuring of agricultural practices and introduced a change in land and labour relations. Several other inventions came forth around this time in history, including the flying shuttle, the hay-tossing machine, and Crompton’s mule. It is clear to see that farm machinery has come a long way since the beginning of time. The Agricultural Revolution transformed the way things were done in the past century, overcoming traditionalism, stagnation, and decline.

The Agricultural Revolution changed Britain

The changes brought about by the agrarian revolution had a great impact. People witnessed the metamorphosis of agriculture, which made the move from traditional medieval farming to much more productive, efficient methods of farming. Many agree with the fact that the modern world began in Britain in the 18th century. The net farm outputs, as well as the food demands, caused an industrial revolution, which brought Britain into an era of technology and richness. Without the Agricultural Revolution, the population would have faced famine and maybe the Industrial Revolution would never have taken place.

Between 1700 and 1850, agricultural production almost doubled. We are talking about an increase in food quantity and quality per capita. People did not go starving, as there were enough food supplies for everyone. The population grew in England and Wales, even if domestic production gave rise to food exports. Farmers put out products more quickly than before, determining a decline in shared workforce. It was a period of adjustment. The increasing power of automation boosted productivity, but many saw their wages stagnate.

The regulations of the open market prevented farmers and intermediaries from doing business in formal markets. The result is that goods were mostly exchanged outside the open market, an occurrence which is referred to as private marketing. By the 19th century, private marketing was extending throughout the nation and agricultural production was destined exclusively for the market. Market towns were established near London in the 17th century. You could see farmers with their samples and buyers present in great numbers.

How agriculture in britain changed

Agriculture in the United Kingdom

British agriculture is very effective and highly productive. It is productive due to innovations in machinery, biological engineering of plants and use of fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.

Cases of foot-and-mouth disease caused a lot of problems. Many countries banned imports of meat and dairy products from Great Britain after these cases.

Farmers use new farming techniques, machines, fertilizers, pesticides and biologically engineered plants. These techniques increase productivity, but are not good for the environment.

Сельское хозяйство соединенного королевства

Британское сельское хозяйство является очень эффективным и очень производительным. Это является производительным из-за новшеств в машинах, биологической разработке заводов и использовании удобрений, пестицидов и гербицидов.

Случаи ящура вызвали много проблем. Много стран запретили импорт мясных и молочных продуктов из Великобритании после этих случаев.

Фермеры используют новые методы сельского хозяйства, машины, удобрения, пестициды и биологически спроектированные заводы. Эти методы увеличивают производительность, но не хороши для окружающей среды.

Ситуация с лесами в Великобритании очень серьезна. Британский используемый лес для строительных материалов и лишал лесного покрова страну. Теперь Великобритания увеличивает лесные области и деревянные продукты импорта.