The options for British farming

Abstract

Although as a member of the European Economic Community the United Kingdom adheres to a common agricultural policy designed to provide the commodities required by the Community as a whole, it has to consider also the role of its agriculture in saving foreign exchange, as an insurance against possible deficits in supplies from the E.E.C. and possibly as a component of social policy determining the balance between rural and urban sectors. In deciding policy, land capabilities, climatic limitations and increasingly the complex interrelations between agriculture and other industries, notably the food industries, have to be considered and these will be discussed. It is concluded that options include the development of production of perishable crop commodities so to minimize transport costs, adoption of insurance strategies for cereal grain and sugar production, expansion of ruminant meat production with European markets in mind, creation of a self-sufficiency in egg production. Such options call for careful examination of potentials for improvement and the additional or alternative resources required.