Farming Types in Britain

Farming in Britain is shaped by the country’s membership in the European Union (EU) which the UK joined in 1973. All the 27 countries that make up the EU have to operate by the same set of rules for farming known as the Common Agricultural Policy.

The main types of farming that you would find in the UK are arable, dairying and hill farming. Many farms are actually mixing in an attempt to make more money. Most farming in Britain tends to be intensive although some of the hill farms of Wales and Scotland could be described as extensive. All of them are commercial. Organic farming represents around 4% of the farmed area and is based upon the concept of sustainability utilising the farm's own resources.

One more farm type is market gardening. This is the growing of vegetables and fruits, usually in huge greenhouses. Often the biggest requirement of market gardening is the transport routes needed to take the products to shops and supermarkets for sale. Often products have to be sold within 24 hours of being produced.

	Climate	Soils	Relief
Arable (e.g. East Anglia)	Warm summers, cold frosty winters. Average temperatures of 18°C or more. Low rainfall, falling during the growing season mainly.	Fertile boulder clays, which are easy to plough.	Generally flat, so it easy for machinery to be used on it.
Dairying (e.g. Devon)	Warm summers and mild winters mean that pasture is available all year long. High rainfall also encourages fast grass growth.	Fertile enough for good pasture growth, but not for arable crops.	Gently sloping, the green rolling hills of the UK. Cattle can not cope with land that is too steep.
Hill Farming (sheep) (e.g. Wales)	Cool summers, cold winters and plenty of rainfall all contribute to these areas being unsuitable for arable farming but good for grass growth.	Thin, poor soils that can be easily eroded and would not be good enough for other forms of farming.	Hilly, steep land that would not be suitable for machinery or cattle. Sheep can cope with the slopes though.
MarketGardening (e.g. East Anglia)	Temperature and water is usually controlled carefully by being in huge greenhouses.	Soil is brought in to provide the best nutrients for the crops. Fertilisers are used extensively.	The greenhouses themselves need flat land on which to be built.

In the UK there are approximately 300,000 active farms with an average size of around 57 hectares, much larger than the European average size of approximately 20 hectares. However the UK's high average size is swelled by the impact of Scotland where the average farm size is over 100 hectares. In England average size is around 50 hectares. For Wales and Northern Ireland, sizes are smaller at around 40 hectares.

Despite the relatively large number of farms in the UK, the majority of the agricultural area is farmed by a much smaller number of farmers. Some 41,000 farms (~14% of the total) are larger than 100 hectares and account for over 65% of the agricultural area.

11. a) Read the Bradley Farm Profile.

Situated in south west Northumberland in Hadrian's Wall Country, Bradley is a 200ha hill farm with sheep and suckler cow enterprises.

The Farm has recently joined with another neighbouring farm, East Bog Farm and the land size has subsequently grown from 200ha to 350ha.

The farm is owned by the National Trust. Julian and Lesley Acton have been tenants here since 1987. The farm is subject to many constraints both natural and man made. In common with other hill farms, its height (300m above sea level) and exposure to the wind leads to a long winter and relatively short growing season, while thin soils, rocky slopes and areas of waterlogging mean that most of the farm is only suitable to grass production and grassing animals. Lying within the Northumberland National Park, the land is in the Hadrian's Wall world heritage site.

b) Answer the questions:

1) Which type of farming happens on this farm?

2) Why is this farm limited to this type of farming?

3) Which factors prevent other types of farming?

4) Should farmers have to diversify to survive?

c) Complete the table below on the factors affecting Bradley Farm:

Human factors affecting the farm	Physical factors affecting the farm

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