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How has farming How has farming changed?changed?

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Until 1750s, farming had not Until 1750s, farming had not changed much since the Battle of changed much since the Battle of

HastingsHastingsCan you

think of any problems with this way of

farming?

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Until 1750s, farming had not Until 1750s, farming had not changed much since the Battle of changed much since the Battle of

HastingsHastings Field left fallowPeople have to walk over your strips to reach theirs

No proper drainage

Animals can trample crops and spread disease

Difficult to take advantage of new farming techniques

Because land in different fields takes time to get to each field

No hedges or fences

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Until 1750s, farming had not Until 1750s, farming had not changed much since the Battle of changed much since the Battle of

HastingsHastingsBut just as population was beginning to increase – it went from about 5 million to 18 million in 100 yearsThey really needed more efficient farming methodsJethro Tull and his seed drillNew crops and new varieties of old cropsAll meant that strips were not efficient enough – they had to go!

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The Victorian FarmThe Victorian Farm

Metal mass-produced ploughThis was the first machine for ploughing – a steam engine at each end of the field pulled the plough backwards and forwards

A threshing machine – before that was done by the men by hand on the floor of the barn as winter work

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Between the wars (1920/30s)Between the wars (1920/30s)

There were a few tractors, but horses were still used a lot

Machines made the haymaking easier, but the hay ricks still had

to be stacked and thatched.

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1949 tractor – this was as good as it 1949 tractor – this was as good as it got!got!

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During the war there was food During the war there was food shortage so there was rationingshortage so there was rationing

This family tried a war-time diet – bit boring with a lot less sugar but they all felt better for it!

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So after the war …So after the war …

All of Europe was pushing for self-sufficiency in food.Up until then, if the harvest was good the farmers got less for their cropsBut if it was bad, then they had nothing to sell anywayThe farmers were leaving the land in droves!So something had to be done!

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After World War II the government launched a campaign to increase agricultural production to try and solve the problems of food shortages and eliminate the need for rationing that had occurred during the war. The aim was quite simply to make the UK self-sufficient. As part of the government drive to increase farm production and efficiency, in 1973 the UK joined the Common Market (now known as the European Union) and adopted what was known as the Common Agricultural Policy.

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The aims of the Common The aims of the Common Agricultural Policy:Agricultural Policy:

1. Stabilise markets, creating a single market in which the free movement of agricultural products could take place2. Increase self-sufficiency by restricting imports and giving preference to produce from the European Union.3. Increase average field and farm size as well as to increase profit for farmers4. Increase agricultural production by guaranteed prices for farmers

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The aims of the Common The aims of the Common Agricultural Policy:Agricultural Policy:

3 main policies were used to achieve the aims above, these were:1. Subsidies and Grants - money was given to support farmers by supplementing their income, in the form of subsidies. Grants were also given to enable farmers to fund schemes to increase production2. Tarrifs (Import Taxes) - import taxes were used to restrict imports and therefore stimulate the market for products from the EU, further encouraging increased production.3. Guaranteed Prices - regardless of world market prices, CAP ensured that farmers were guaranteed a fixed price for what they produced.

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This was the result!This was the result!

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But by the mid 1980s they were But by the mid 1980s they were succeeding rather too wellsucceeding rather too well

There was a problem with large surpluses of produce resulting in 'grain mountains‘, ‘wine lakes’ ‘butter mountains’. A number of changes had to be made to CAP to try and control the problem of over-production, these included:1. QUOTAS - these involved setting amounts for how much milk or crops could be produced. If farms exceeded these amounts then they were fined2. SET-ASIDE - the European Union funded set-aside in order to reduce the problems of surplus. This is where farmers were paid not to farm some of their land which would for example be left fallow or used for non-agricultural purposes. For example, in 1995, due to the EU shortage of oil for non-agricultural purposes, farmers were paid a high subsidy of £445 per hectare for planting oilseed rape.3. DIVERSIFICATION - farmers were encouraged to move into other areas of business to make money, this included PYO (Pick Your Own), Farm Shops, Bed and Breakfast, Renting out land etc.

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Changes over 50 yearsChanges over 50 years

Overall in response to the Common Agricutural Policy and the drive to increase agricultural production since World War II, there have been a number of key changes in arable farming in the UK in particular over the last 50 years:1. AGRIBUSINESS - farming has become large scale and 'capital intensive', now often run by large companies as opposed to being owned by individual farmers. These agribusiness companies use hi-technology and agrochemicals to maximise yields and maximise profits2. FIELD SIZE & MECHANISATION - hedgerows have been removed to increase field size to increase production and also to enable machinery such as tractors, combine harvesters to become bigger etc. and so to be used more efficiently.

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The aims of the Common The aims of the Common Agricultural Policy:Agricultural Policy:

3. LAND RECLAMATION - land, previously not used for agricultural production has been reclaimed in order to provide more opportunities for agricultural land-use. This has involved clearing woodlands, draining marshlands and fertilising sandy soils.4. IMPROVED BUILDINGS - specialised buildings are now constructed, including temperature controlled storage sheds for drying grain and keeping harvested crops at optimum temperatures5. CHEMICALS - there has been an increasing use of fertilisers which allowed crops to continually be grown in the same fields without the need for crop rotation. There has also been an increase in the use of pesticides and herbicides.

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The aims of the Common The aims of the Common Agricultural Policy:Agricultural Policy:

Environmental Issues resulting from changes in farming:As a result of the changes above, there has been an increasing environmental impact, including:Almost 50% of the UKs hedgerows were removed between 1945-1990 resulting in the removal of important habitats, resulting in a decline in farm bird populations.Removal of the hedgerows has also resulted in increased soil erosion as there are no longer hedgerows to act as windbreaks.The increase in use of pesticides and herbicides has increased water pollution as they are washed from the fields.This has led to the over-enrichment of the water with nutrients so weed and other vegetation has taken over at the expense of other water life.

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Since 2000 it has been all change Since 2000 it has been all change again!again!We might have got the wine lakes and butter

mountains under control, but there are still other parts of the system that are going wrong.If you pay a farmer per sheep on his mountain-side, he is going to put more up there.They eat everything in site and spoil the environment.As already said, ripping out all the hedges takes away the species diversity and causes soil erosionAllow them to put as much fertilizer/pesticide on as they like, and you spoil the water for everyone.

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Since 2000 it has been all change Since 2000 it has been all change again!again!Throw into the pot global warming, and some

changes are needed – NOW!New rules: you will get paid not for the number of cows/sheep you own but for the area you farm – so you don’t need to pack them 10 deep on the field – save your environmentYou will get paid extra to look after the environment – put in ponds, don’t plough right up to the hedge – leave field margins and don’t spray themBy the way we will pay you more if you put mixed hedges back – yes I know we paid you 30 years ago to take them out – but we know better now!

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Since 2000 it has been all change Since 2000 it has been all change again!again!Remember what we said about

diversify?We will make it even easierDo you have a barn you don’t use? Why not turn it into a workshop or a holiday home? Planning? No problem – you have a special deal on that one.What about growing non-food crops? Yes I know we said we wouldn’t pay you to produce those – but its different now. Green energy is all the thing!

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HomeworkHomework

There is a choice of 2 – but I would like you to do the first one if you can – only resort to the second one if you really stuck.There are all sorts of good things going on to do with farming/food production at the moment. I would like you to do a bit of searching and find out what is going on locally – what kind of thing might you think about? See over ….

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Idea 1Idea 1

Is there a project locally to do with farming that is protecting the environment – farmer’s market, a bit in the paper about putting hedges back in, allotment association (lots of those starting up in cities), organic food production – do a 3-slide PP about it – maybe a local farm is installing wind/water power or opening its own shop?

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Idea 2Idea 2

If you are totally stuck, go to this site:http://www.face-online.org.uk/index.php?option=com_google_maps&Itemid=920It has lots of farms who are doing some great things and one of them are abroad – Choose one that interests you and find out what special things they are doing – many have a side heading diversification – that is where you will find the good bits.PS I get my lamb joint and my rump steak from Dolithon Meats at Llandrindod Market – it is one of the farms – they are doing great things.