September 1996

Geo Factsheet
landscape employment and migration patterns air, soil and water quality animal and plant species diversity. These made it possible to spread fertilisers and pesticides quickly and efficiently over large areas and to plant, spray and harvest huge monocultures i.e. large areas of a single species. Harvesting machines tend to be specialised for one crop and consequently, after investing in a hugely expensive machine, farmers tended to stick more and more to that one crop; specialisation became more common and, in turn, this encouraged farm amalgamation to take advantage of economies of scale - farms became bigger (see Table 1).

Number 3

Agriculture And The UK Environment

The nature of agriculture in the UK has changed dramaticaly over the last 50 years and this has caused equally dramatic changes to the landscape and to the structure of rural communities. This Factsheet will review the ways in which agriculture has changed and summarise the effects of these changes on:

Declining agricultural employment contributed to rural depopulation, especially of young people and this had predictable knock - on effects within rural communities. Mechanisation lead to the destruction of hedgerows, walls and ditches (see Table 2).

Between 1945 and 1980 agriculture became capital intensive i.e. high levels of chemicals such as fertilisers, pesticides, animal feeds, hormones etc. were used to achieve high animal and crop yields from relatively small areas. Controlled environments such as intensive pig or cattle units using computer - controlled heating, lighting and feeding regimes maximised output. Agricultural intensification was made possible by mechanisation - the replacement of manual labour by machines (see Fig 1).

Table 2. Agricultural changes Changes in field boundary lengths 1947-85/1000 km

1947 1969 1980 1985

Table 1. Farm size changes in Great Britain, 1950-1987

Farm size groups (ha) (% change) <20 England Wales Scotland Great Britain -66 -67 -81 -69 20-100 >100 -41 -20 -45 -39 +113 +763 +317 +154

hedgerows fences walls banks open ditches

662 162 101 142 116

578 170 98 132 111

534 175 96 125 107

507 183 94 121 107

Fig1. Farming And Mechanisation

tractors/hundred thousand

Computers and machinery replaced men and, consequently, the number of people employed in agriculture fell dramatically (see Fig 2).
3

Large, expensive machinery is only efficient when it is doing the job it is supposed to be doing, not when it is going round corners; hence long straight runs are needed and this encouraged widespread destruction of hedges and other boundary habitats. This resulted in; less habitats for insects, birds, small mammals and plants an increase in soil erosion as average wind speeds increased and root binding of hedge plants decreases. a reduction in the aesthetic quality of the landscape.

Fig 2. Changes In The Agricultural Labour Force In The UK, 1945-95

Numbers of workers /thousand 800

600 1 400

Heavy machinery may also lead to soil compaction, reduced infiltration and a further increase in soil erosion. Intensification has meant a huge increase in the use of artificial fertilisers such as nitrogen and phosphorus (see Fig 3 overleaf ).
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 year

200 0 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1937 1942 1946 1950 1954 1958 1962 year 0

Agriculture And The UK Environment

Geo Factsheet

Fig 3. Fertiliser Consumption In The United Kingdom, 1840-1977

The problem of high BOD may also result if organic waste such as slurry (animal faeces and urine), silage (rotted grass to feed cattle in winter) or waste from dairy units enters streams or rivers. Intensive agriculture usually results in the use of monocultures, the growth of one variety, species or genotype over a large area. For potential pests, a monoculture represents gastronomic heaven - a seemingly endless meal. Consequently, monocultures often result in pest epidemics and therefore increased use of pesticides (see Fig 4).

1. Guaranteed prices
Farmers were offered a guaranteed price for products such as beef, milk and cereals. Sold to consumers at the market price, the government would then make up the difference between the selling price and the price that they had guaranteed. This encouraged intensification and specialisation.

Thousand tonnes of plant nutrients

1300 1200 1100 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 1850 1870 1890 1910 1930 1950 1970 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 Phosphorus Nitrogen

2. Grants and subsidies

Grants to purchase new machinery encouraged mechanisation. Subsidies on, for example, nitrate fertilisers encouraged intensification. Britain joined the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 and British farmers immediately benefited from the EEC Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). The CAP tried to protect EEC farmers from potentially cheaper imports (for example New Zealand butter) by imposing levies on imported food. Surplus products - milk, grains etc were bought (intervention buying) to prevent prices falling this led to the notorious grain mountains and milk lakes (see Table 3 )

Year

Besides reducing the need for rotation of crops, this has also led to pollution problems. Nitrate is very soluble and easily leached, particularly if applied at inappropriate times. This has led to increasing nitrate concentrations in groundwater supplies; in several areas of the UK the EC maximum admissible concentration (MAC) of 50 mg/litre has been exceeded. High levels of nitrate in drinking water may lead to blue baby syndrome or, if they are converted to nitrites, stomach cancer. Both nitrates and phosphates contribute to the problem of eutrophication, the excess nutrient enrichment of water. Nitrate is leached, but phosphate more readily adsorbs to clay and so erodes less. Thus hedgerow removal may also exacerbate eutrophication problems. Both inappropriate drainage and washings from intensive animal units can also provide unwanted inputs of nitrogen and phosphorus to aquatic ecosystems. Eutrophication is characterised by algal blooms which, although providing some oxygen by photosynthesis, effectively block light to lower depths hence reducing the number of macrophytes (large aquatic plants). When algae and macrophytes die they are broken down by aerobic bacteria which use up much of the oxygen in the water, creating a very high biological oxygen demand (BOD). Declining oxygen levels lead to the death of most or all of the plants and animals.
Exam Hint - Many students provide insufficient detail when discussing scientific aspects of pollution. Be precise; nitrate fertilisers may lead to eutrophication is correct, Fertilisers lead to eutrophication is not.

Fig 4. Pesticide Sales

Table 3. European food mountains, 1992

Foodstuff Store/ tonnes Days Supply

160 140 120 Sales ( million) 100 80 60 40 20 0 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 Year 1945 1955 1965 1975 1985

Butter Beef Cereals

224000 629000 19612000

52 38 -

Because crops of the same species tend to have similar rooting patterns and nutrient requirements, monocultures may also result in nutrient deficiencies, which again are usually remedied by the use of fertilisers. Pesticides may enter drinking water supplies by leaching, wind blow or leakage from stores. Possible effects on humans are controversial and unproven, but entry into rivers and streams has resulted in deaths of invertebrates, fish and birds. The use of organochlorine pesticides led to biomagnification which resulted in a decline of top carnivores such as peregrine falcons and possibly otters. All of the above trends were a logical consequence of the 1947 Agriculture Act which aimed to increase self - sufficiency in basic foodstuffs. To do this, two key measures were implemented:

Such surpluses were then stored, exported or even destroyed ! By 1990, 48% of farm revenue in the EC came from price support and by 1994, in countries such as Scotland, with huge areas within Less Favoured Areas designations, subsidies accounted for as much as 87% of farm income. The CAP accelerated the dominance of agri-business, where ever-increasing production meant ever-increasing profit and this both penalised the small farmer and encouraged amalgamation and the business ownership of farms. Increasingly, financial institutions and property companies became farm owners and managers and profit - maximisation and rapid investment return became the main aims. Managers with business/financial backgrounds replaced local farm managers and outside contractors replaced local workers. Cropping and animal husbandry techniques were carefully tailored to those which would attract maximum CAP support and this led to often rapid and dramatic changes in crop types and stockrearing practices. In the rush for quick profits, habitat destruction increased (see Table 4 overleaf).

Agriculture And The UK Environment

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Table 4. Habitat Loss, 1951-90.

Table 5. Reducing Production.

Set aside Farmers are paid to keep set - aside land fallow. This has not reduced production as much has had been hoped; farmers selected their least productive land for inclusion. Flexible set - aside, in which the same piece of land can be left fallow each year has, however improved habitat provision on farmland. Environmentally sensitive areas(ESAs) Within 22 ESAs farmers are compensated for using traditional practices which help to maintain the traditional landscape. Walls, ditches, hedgerows and barns must be maintained, fertiliser and pesticide use is strictly limited as are animal stocking densities. E.g. Dartmoor : heather moorlands and walls must be maintained on an annual management plan (see Table 6 overleaf). Nitrate sensitive areas/Nitrate vulnerable zones Farms in areas overlying aquifers are compensated for using less nitrate and for restricted ploughing of grasslands. The NVZ designation made the voluntary measures in the NSAs compulsory. E.g. over almost all of East Anglia, the EU limits for nitrate in drinking water are regularly exceeded. Countryside stewardship Run by the Countryside Commission, this scheme aims to conserve but increase public access to particular habitats such as limestone grasslands e.g. Derbyshire, waterside landscapes e.g. fens, Fig 6. Land Subject To uplands and hedgerows. Agri-Environmental Agreements Organic Aid scheme Grants are offered to farmers who convert to organic production and who therefore do not 600 use artificial fertilisers and pesticides. Moorland scheme For farmers outside ESAs, compensation is 500 offered for the reduction of sheep stocking densities on heather moorlands, thus allowing 400 restoration and conservation of such moors. Habitat schemes Farmers are offered payments for specific 300 habitat management schemes eg hedgerow restoration.
Hectares (000s) 200

Habitat

% lost 1951-90

lowland herb-rich grasslands chalk and limestone grasslands lowland heaths limestone pavements ancient woodlands lowland fens and marshes lowland raised bogs upland grasslands, heaths, mires

96 82 60 45 50 50 63 34

However, by the mid 1980s it had become clear that 40 years of intensification had caused serious harm to the rural landscape, to rural employment and to a wide range of species and habitats. (The major effects are summarised in Fig 5). Pressure for change led to many new initiatives designed to cut production including cuts in guaranteed prices. The 1992 CAP reforms gave much greater priority to the environment. All member countries had to implement measures designed to encourage environmentally sensitive farming. Some of these, such as Set - Aside were already up and running, but all of the major schemes are summarised in Table 5.

Fig 5. Environmental Problems Caused By Agricultural Intensification

100

reduction of long-term productivity danger to human health high nitrate concentrations in drinking water residues on food narrowing of genetic base

0 Year 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1989 1991 1993 1995

increased soil erosion

loss of species diversity

loss of species diversity

eutrophication damage to SSSIs loss of hedgerows and walls soil compaction inreasing use of fertiliser monocultures farm amalgamation loss of jobs mechanisation demand for greater production

harm to non-target species increasing use of pesticides indoor rearing of animals

organic pollution of fresh water

Exam Hint - Weaker candidates rely too much upon description of problems, rather than attempting to explain the interactions which link intensification with environmental damage

animal and plant breeding

Agriculture And The UK Environment

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Table 6. Management of Environmentally Sensitive Areas

ESA Why Special? Example of Landscape feature Heather moorland, hedges, stone walls Means Of Protection Limit stocking density ; agree cutting and burning regimes for heather Agree cutting and burning regimes for heather; maintain hedges, walls and banks; maintain permanent grassland with no excavation, cultivation or reseeding Maintain water levels in dykes and ditches, and agree on a management plan

Dartmoor

Very high landscape geological and archaelogical value

Shropshire hills

High landscape value Heather moorland and with important upland patchwork of hedges buildings and many between hay meadows archaelogical and and rough grazing historic sites

Essex coast

Coastal wetlands offer Marshlands, water-filled important habitat dykes and ditches for plants, invertibrates and birds; sites of Iron Age/ Roman salt production

In the UK, 6% of agricultural land is now subject to an agri-environmental agreement. Such agreements have helped to increase the area of natural landscape features such as deciduous woodlands, as well as maintain artificial landscapes (moorlands, heathlands, downs), which are so well established that they are often considered natural. The stimulation of organic agriculture will reduce soil cultivation and the use of all kinds of artificial chemicals and will help to re - create important wildlife habitats. However, most farmers attempting to reduce production and to diversify have moved towards recreation provision. (see Table 7).

Once again, changes in the nature of agriculture seem likely to lead to dramatic changes in the rural landscape and rural economy. However, since much diversification is centred on the generation of tourism, it seems likely that ,in addition to the multiplying benefits which this will bring, rural communities will face renewed and increasing challenges to provide rapid access and accommodation - both of which represent weighty problems.

Table 7. Types Of Farm Diversification Acknowledgements;

Direct Marketing Recreation Accomodation Woodland Management Unconventional Products

This Geo Factsheet was researched and written by Kevin Byrne. Geo Press 10 St Pauls Square Birmingham B3 1QU Geopress Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students, provided that their school is a registered subscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher.

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