Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Agricultural Development and Britain’s Natural Heritage

  • Chapter
The Development of Modern Agriculture

  • 98 Accesses

Abstract

Over the centuries, agriculture has played a dominant role in determining land use, and in exploiting or enhancing the natural landscape. This relationship has generally been portrayed as harmonious, with farmers acting as custodians of the countryside. Historically the fortunes of agriculture have been synonymous with rural prosperity and quality of life. By the 1980s, however, there was widespread concern that the unprecedented expansion and intensification of British agriculture had been achieved partly at the expense of the environment and rural communities. Mounting food surpluses necessitated a fundamental reappraisal of agriculture’s role in the countryside and the rural economy. This chapter examines the measures taken to protect the rural landscape and biodiversity of the countryside. Attention focuses on the development of organic farming and the conservation of traditional breeds of livestock. The chapter concludes with an investigation into the changing role of farmers during this crucial period in Britain’s agricultural metamorphosis.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Notes

  1. P. Coones, ‘One Landscape or Many? A Geographical Perspective’, Landscape History, 7 (1985) p. 5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. R. Small, ‘Conservation and Rare Breeds of Farm Livestock’, British Wildlife, Vol. 6, No. 1 (October 1994) pp. 28–36.

    Google Scholar 

  3. N. Milton, ‘Nature Conservation and Arable Farming’, British Wildlife, Vol. 5, No. 4 (April 1994) pp. 229–35.

    Google Scholar 

  4. D. Evans, A History of Nature Conservation in Britain (Routledge, 1992) p. 88.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  5. W.M. Adams, Nature’s Place: Conservation Sites and Countryside Change (Allen & Unwin, 1986) pp. 19–20.

    Google Scholar 

  6. V. Bonham-Carter, The Survival of the English Countryside (Hodder and Stoughton, 1971) p. 114; D. Evans, op. cit. p. 70.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Lord Addison, A Policy for British Agriculture (Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1939) p. 35.

    Google Scholar 

  8. R. Carson, Silent Spring (Hamish Hamilton, London 1963).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Quoted in H. Newby The Countryside in Question (Hutchinson, 1988) p. 73.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Cmnd 7459, Farming and the Nation (HMSO, 1979) p. 6.

    Google Scholar 

  11. For a critique of Marion Shoards text see J. Sheail, Nature Protection, Ecologists, and the Farming Context: A UK Historical Perspective, Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 11, No. 1 (1995) p. 85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. P. Lowe, G. Cox, M. MacEwen, T. O’Riordan and M. Winter, Countryside Conflicts — The Politics of Farming, Forestry and Conservation (Gower Aldershot, 1986) p. 55.

    Google Scholar 

  13. RSPB, ‘Once Upon a Farm’, Birds, May–July 1996, p. 27; for a more detailed analysis of the decline of 12 species of birds in Wales, see R. Lovegrove, M. Shrubb and I. Williams, Silent Fields (RSPB, 1995) pp. 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  14. C. McKelvey, A Future for Game (George Allen & Unwin, 1985) p. 31.

    Google Scholar 

  15. NCC, Nature Conservation in Great Britain: Summary of Objectives and Strategy (NCC, Shrewsbury, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  16. E. Pollard, M.D. Hooper and N.W. Moore, Hedges (Collins, 1974) p. 64.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Hedgerow Survey 1993, (A report produced under contract for the Department of the Environment, July 1994) Executive summary, part 7.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Department of the Environment, The Hedgerow Regulations: Your Questions Answered (HMSO, 1997) pp. 2–3.

    Google Scholar 

  19. B. Denyer-Green, Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. The Practictioner’s Companion (Surveyors Publications: London, 1983) p. 18.

    Google Scholar 

  20. NFU, Management Agreements in the Countryside (NFU, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  21. NFU, Annual General Meeting, press release, May 1984, p. 5.

    Google Scholar 

  22. NFU, Agriculture, Britain’s Greatest Industry (NFU, 1986) p. 3.

    Google Scholar 

  23. NFU, The NFU Straw and Stubble Burning Code 1984 (NFU, 1984).

    Google Scholar 

  24. House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology, Fourth Report Agricultural and Environmental Research 1983–4 (HMSO, 1984) p. 14.

    Google Scholar 

  25. J. Sheail, ‘Nature Protection, Ecologists and the UK Farming Context’, Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 11. No.1 (January 1995) p. 84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. S. Hilts, ‘Natural Heritage and Agricultural Production in Canada’, in I.R. Bowler, C.R. Bryant and M.D. Nellis (ed.), Contemporary Rural Systems in Transition, Vol. 1, Agriculture and the Environment (CAB International, Wallingford, 1992) p. 149.

    Google Scholar 

  27. National audit office report, ESA agreements, British Farmer and Grower Business (NFU, September 1997) p. 3.

    Google Scholar 

  28. MAFF, Our Farming Future (MAFF, 1991) p. 1.

    Google Scholar 

  29. N.H. Lampkin and M. Measures, 1995/6 Organic Farm Management Farm Handbook 2nd edn September (Welsh Institute of Rural Studies; University of Wales, 1995) p. 137.

    Google Scholar 

  30. L. Avon, Conservation and Management of Genetic Resources in Western Europe: Cattle Breeds in L. Alderson, Genetic Conservation of Domestic Livestock, Vol. 1 (CAB Wallingford, 1990) p. 45.

    Google Scholar 

  31. L. Alderson, The Chance to Survive (Pilkington Press Ltd., 1994) p. 89.

    Google Scholar 

  32. R. Small, ‘Conservation and Rare Breeds of Farm Livestock’, British Wildlife, Vol. 6, No. 1 (October 1994) pp. 28–36.

    Google Scholar 

  33. L. Alderson, ‘The work of the RBST’ in G.L.H. Alderson and I. Bodo (ed.), Genetic Conservation of Domestic Livestock, Vol. 2 (CAB International, Wallingford, 1990) pp. 32–44.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Cmnd 2428, Biodiversity: the UK Action Plan (HMSO, 1993).

    Google Scholar 

  35. MAFF, Report of the Committee to Consider the Ethical Implications of Emerging Technologies in the Breeding of Farm Animals (HMSO, 1995) pp. 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  36. N.H. Lampkin, Organic Farming (Farming Press, Ipswich, 1990) pp. 10–11.

    Google Scholar 

  37. R.F. Weller and A. Cooper, ‘The Health Status of Dairy Herds Converting from Conventional to Organic Daily Farming’, Veterinary Record, Vol. 139 (10 August 1996) p. 142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. The Henley Centre ‘The Market for Organic Food’, Report by the Henley Centre on forecasting for Mid Wales Development (Newtown 1989) pp. 1–20.

    Google Scholar 

  39. National Westminster Bank, The Nat West National Farm Survey (National Westminster Bank, Coventry, 1992) p. 16.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Mintel, Organic Food (Mintel, London 1991), p. 10.

    Google Scholar 

  41. MAFF, Organic Farming (MAFF, 1997) Section 12.

    Google Scholar 

  42. United Nations, Demographic Yearbook 1992 (United Nations, New York, 1992) p. 2.

    Google Scholar 

  43. R.W. Howarth, Farming for Farmers, Hobart Paperback 20 (Institute of Economic Affairs 1985) p. 48.

    Google Scholar 

  44. G.M. Robinson, Conflict and Change in the Countryside (Wiley, 1994) pp. xxi–xxii.

    Google Scholar 

  45. A. Mowle, ‘Nature Conservation and Rural Development’ in M. Bell and R.G.H. Bunce, Agriculture and Conservation in the Hills and Uplands (ITE, NERC, 1987) p. 121.

    Google Scholar 

  46. A. Rogers, J. Blunden and N. Curry (eds) The Countryside Handbook (Crook Helon 1985) p. 37.

    Google Scholar 

  47. I. Weekley, ‘Rural Depopulation and Counter-urbanisation: a Paradox’, Area20 (1988) pp. 127–34.

    Google Scholar 

  48. P. Cloke and L. Davies, ‘Deprivation and Lifestyles in Rural Wales. 1. Towards a Cultural Dimension’, Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 8, No. 4 (1992) pp. 349–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  49. B. Hill and N. Young, ‘Support Policy for Rural Areas in England and Wales : Its Assessment and Quantification’, Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 7, No. 3 (1991) pp. 191–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. D. Harvey, Countryside Implications for England and Wales of Possible Changes in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAS, Reading, 1986) p. 121.

    Google Scholar 

  51. P. Cloke, ‘On “Problems and Solutions” — the Reproduction of Problems for Rural Communities in Britain during the 1980s’, Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1993) pp. 113–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  52. A. Fuller, R. Bollman, ‘Pluriactivity among Farm Families: Some West European, US and Canadian Comparisons’ in I.R. Bowler, C.R. Bryant and M.D. Nellis (eds), Contemporary Rural Systems in Transition Vol. 2, Economy and Society (CAB International, Wallingford, 1992) p. 202.

    Google Scholar 

  53. C. Clutterbuck and T. Lang, More Than We Can Chew (Pluto Press, London, 1982) p. 64.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Q. Seddon, The Silent Revolution (BBC Books, 1989) p. 67.

    Google Scholar 

  55. National Consumers Council, Consumers and the Common Agricultural Policy (HMSO, 1988) p. 8.

    Google Scholar 

  56. A. Martin, Economics and Agriculture (Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1968) p. 91.

    Google Scholar 

  57. D.I. Bateman, G.O. Hughes, P. Midmore, N.H. Lampkin and C.S. Ray, ‘Pluriactivity and the Rural Economy in the Less Favoured Areas of Wales’ Report to the Economic and Social Research Council, Department of Economics and Agricultural Economics (University of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1993) Part 2, chapter 3.

    Google Scholar 

  58. H. Edmond, K. Corcoran and B. Crabtree, ‘Modelling Locational Access to Markets for Pluriactivity: a Study in the Grampian Region in Scotland’, Journal of Rural Studies, Vol. 9 (1993) pp. 339–49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  59. For a detailed analysis of the Wye College Study, see R. Gasson, The Economics of Part Time Farming (Longman, 1988) pp. 8–19.

    Google Scholar 

  60. Hill Farming Initiative, Rural Stress Network (Press Release, 1997) pp. 2–4.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. De Montfort University, Leicester, UK

    John Martin (Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History and Research Associate)

  2. New Dictionary of National Biography, University of Oxford, UK

    John Martin (Senior Lecturer in Economic and Social History and Research Associate)

Authors
  1. John Martin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Copyright information

© 2000 John Martin

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Martin, J. (2000). Agricultural Development and Britain’s Natural Heritage. In: The Development of Modern Agriculture. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230599963_7

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230599963_7

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-349-39602-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-230-59996-3

  • eBook Packages: Palgrave History CollectionHistory (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation