剑2-Test2-SECTION-4

SECTION4Ihopethatthisfirstsession,whichI’vecalledAnIntroductiontoBritishAgriculture,willprovideahelpfulbackgroundtothefarmvisitsyou’llbedoingnextweek.1IthinkIshouldstartbyemphasizingthatagriculturestillaccountsforaveryimportantpartofthiscountry’seconomy.WeareusedtohearingtheUK’ssocietyandeconomydescribedasbeing‘industrial’oreven‘post-industrial’,butwemustn’tletthisblindustothefactthatagricultureareitssupportingindustriesstillaccountforaround20%ofourGrossNationalProduct.Thisfigureisespeciallyimpressive,Ithink,whenyoubearinmindhowverysmallapercentageoftheUKworkforceisemployedinagriculture.Thisisnotarecentdevelopment–youwouldhavetogobackto1750orsotofindamajorityoftheworkforceinthisCountryworkinginagriculture.Bythemiddleofthenextcentury,in1850thatis,ithadfallensharplyto10%,andthento3%bythemiddleofthetwentiethcentury.Andnowjust2%oftheworkforcecontribute20%ofGNP.Howisthisefficiencyachieved?Well,myownviewisthatitowesagreatdealtoahistory,overthelast50or60years,ofintelligentsupportbythestate,mainlytakingtheformofhelpingfarmerstoplanahead.ThenthetwootherfactorsIshouldmention,bothveryimportant,arethehighleveloftrainingamongsttheagriculturalworkforce.Andsecondly,therecognitionbyfarmersofthevalueofinvestingintechnology.5Now,althoughtheUKisafairlysmallcountry,thegeologyandclimatevaryagooddealfromregiontoregion.Forourpurposestodaywecandividethecountrybroadlyintothree–I’vemarkedthemonthemaphere(indicatesmap).Theregionyou’llgettoknowbest,ofcourse,isthenorth,whereweareatpresent.Thelandhereisgenerallyhilly,andthesoilsthin.Theclimateuphere,andyou’vealreadyhadevidenceofthis,isgenerallycoolandwet.Asyouwillseenextweek,thetypicalfarmhereintheNorthisasmall,family-runconcern,producingmainlywoolandtimberforthemarket.IfwecontrastthatwiththeEasternregion,overhere,theeastisflatterandmorelow-lying,withfertilesoilsandamixedclimate.Averagefarm-sizeismuchbiggerintheeast,andfarmsarelikelytobemanagedstrictlyoncommerciallines.Asforcrops,well,theeastistheUK’sgreatcereal-producingregion.However,increasinglysignificantareasarenowalsogivenovertohighqualityvegetablesforsupplydirecttothesupermarkets.&Thethirdbroadregionisthewest,whereit’sadifferentstoryagain.Theclimateiswarmerthaninthenorthandmuchwetterthanintheeast.Theresultingrichsoilsinthewestprovideexcellentpasture,andthefarmstherearequitelarge,typicallyaround800hectares.Themainproductsaremilk,cheeseandmeat.&So,clearly,therearemarkeddifferencesbetweenregions.Butthisdoesnotpreventquiteastrongsenseofsolidarityamongstthefarmingcommunityasawhole,rightacrossthecountry.Thissolidaritycomesinpartfromtheneedtopresentaunitedfrontindealingwithotherpowerfulinterest-groups,suchasgovernmentorthemedia.Italsoowessomethingtothecloseco-operationbetweenalltheagriculturaltrainingcolleges,throughwhichthegreatmajorityoffarmerspassatthebeginningoftheircareers.AndathirdfactorforsolidarityisthenationalstructureoftheFarmers’Union,ofwhichvirtuallyallfarmersaremembers.Finallyinthisshorttalk,Iwouldliketosayalittleaboutthechallengesfacingfarmersinthenext…