Present and future challenges in farming
Farming practices in Great Britain are now moving towards a reduction of environmental impacts.
The Northmoor Trust sustainable farming initiative demonstrates that economically viable farming is not incompatible with wildlife conservation.
Oxfordshire is the most rural county in the south east of England, with 78% of its area currently agricultural land.
The main crops grown in the Wittenhams area are cereals with oilseed rape and peas and field beans grown as break crops. On the better quality agricultural land market-garden vegetables, soft fruits, potatoes and leeks are grown, and livestock is kept on the lower-quality land primarily within the flood plain.
Recognising the damage caused by intensive farming, the UK government introduced Countryside Stewardship schemes in the early 1990s.
The scheme offers farmers a financial incentive to improve the landscape and wildlife habitats by adopting land management practices.
A government “Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food” was published in 2002 and other initiatives have followed. More recently (2004) the EU’s reform of its CAP policy (the “Single Farm Payment”) will, together with a wide range of other new measures, decouple farmers financial support from the amount of their production.
http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/sustain/
http://www.defra.gov.uk/farm/capreform/index.htm
