Farming In The U.K.

Types

• The main types of farming that you would find in the UK are arable, dairying and hill farming.

• Many farms are actually mixing some or all of these 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.

Location

Market Gardening

• Market gardening is not shown on the map.• This is because this type of farming can be done

anywhere.• 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.

TypesClimate 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.

TypesClimate Soils Relief

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.

Market Gardening (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.

Human Factors

• The Common Agricultural Policy and other regulations have encouraged arable farming more than dairying or hill sheep farming, and this has led to many farms becoming mixed farms.

• Both dairy farms and market gardens require excellent transport links to their markets as they are producing goods that will quickly go off.

• Arable farming and market gardening require large capital inputs, whilst sheep farming and dairying require much less.

• However arable farms and market gardens tend to be the more profitable also.