Epilogue: Modern Agriculture

Abstract

The late 1990s, a quarter of a century after Britain’s entry into the EC, was a fitting time to review the history of British agriculture since 1931. The BSE crisis, which culminated in a worldwide embargo on beef exports, and the strong pound precipitated an agricultural depression reminiscent of the interwar decades. Both periods were characterized by: falling prices for all main agricultural commodities; surplus capacity of agricultural land no longer required for arable cropping; and state intervention intended to address these structural problems.