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Farming in the Peak District National ParkHistory of Farming in the Peak DistrictThe limestone uplands were first
farmed by Neolithic people between 3500 and 4000 years BC because of their
light, well-drained soils. These people reared sheep and cattle and grew
crops like beans, pulses, wheat and barley. At Chee Tor and Roystone Grange
it is possible to see fields and terraces that were cultivated during
Roman times.
Improved roads and the coming of the railways, allowed easier movement of goods and arable farming declined in favour of sheep farming. Now, almost no arable farming takes place within the Peak District. The area is principally given over to grazing for sheep, beef and dairy cattle. Some barley and root crops are grown and the grass crop is cut to provide hay and silage for the livestock. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Effect of Geology on FarmingThe landscape of most of the
Peak District National Park has been influenced by farming for many centuries.
Although much of the Peak District appears natural, it is the clearing
of forests, grazing of animals, marking out of fields and building of
farmsteads and barns that have formed this characteristic landscape. A slightly porous sandstone,
the Millstone Grit forms the highest land in the Peak District. This area
is covered with a peaty, acid soil with many areas of bog. Heather is
often the dominant vegetation on dryer soils with cotton grass moorland
on peat bogs. This land is used for sheep grazing and a good deal is also
managed for grouse. Below the gritstone edges, an impermeable rock called
shale is the foundation of gentle open valleys. This lower, more sheltered
land is more fertile and suitable for dairy cattle as well as sheep farming.
Limestone is the rock which forms the White Peak area of the Park. The fairly high limestone plateau is covered with green fields criss-crossed by drystone walls. Here there are sheep and dairy farms with some beef cattle. Cutting the plateau are steep,
grassy dales or valleys which are often grazed. Some of these are protected
as nature reserves or as SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest).
Where the grassland has not been 'improved' (ploughed, re-seeded or fertilised)
the meadows are rich in wild flowers such as ox-eye daisies, cowslips
and early purple orchids. The farm buildings form clusters of grey stone
buildings blending into the limestone landscape. Today about 46% of the Peak
District National Park is farmed land. There are thought to be about 1,800
farms in the National Park. Some farms are very small smallholdings
and some are hobby farms where the owner's main job is not managing the
farm. Farming is an important influence on the life of the Park.
A typical Dark Peak Farm will have land stretching from the high heather moorland down to the rich grass in the valley. There may be some store cattle, which are raised for beef but will be sent on to more fertile farms for fattening, as well as a flock of around 50 to 200 sheep. Some farms may have a small herd of dairy cattle. The fields on the lower slopes may be improved by ploughing and re-seeding with grass every few years. The grass in some fields is cut to make silage (where the grass is cut and stored without drying so that it 'pickles' to provide winter food for the animals), and the grass in other fields is cut and dried to provide hay. The higher moorland provides rough grazing for the sheep.
A typical White Peak farm is
similar to the Dark Peak farm but is more likely to have a larger dairy
herd and a larger flock of sheep. The animals graze on the grassland of
the limestone plateau in a large number of small fields surrounded by
drystone walls. Statistics of a Typical White Peak Farm
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Changes in FarmingThe whole of the Peak District
National Park is classified as a Less Favoured Area (LFA). This means
that farmers qualify for higher rates of grant than those in the lowlands
and receive 'headage' payments for breeding ewes and suckler cows (those
kept for breeding and not for milking), through the Hill Livestock Compensatory
Allowances. The payments make it possible for farming communities to continue
in these poorer farming areas. From the mid 1970s, European farmers produced surplus milk. To try and cope with this problem, milk quotas were introduced in 1984 and involved a reduction in the volume of milk that could be produced, based on figures for 1983. This meant that farmers could no longer increase their dairy herd but had to look for other ways of increasing their income. Milk quotas are now bought and sold, with profitable farmers buying more quota from farmers reducing their herd or giving up dairy farming altogether. The number of medium sized farms have decreased, whilst the number of smaller and larger farms have increased between the period of 1991 - 1997. The amount of livestock in the Park increased by 4% over the period 1990 - 1998 to a total of 584,000 - 81% of which were sheep! The numbers employed in farming have been relatively stable between 1990 - 1998 but there has been a fall in the number of full-time workers and a relative increase in the number of part-time workers. Farm income has declined since 1995 for all types of farms. Incomes from lowland cattle and sheep have declined by 140%!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - From Food Production to ConservationFrom the start of World War
2, the National Agricultural Policy and later the European Community Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP), had been committed to food production. However,
for some years now a change in attitude has taken place. Within the European
Union, overproduction of food and an increasing concern for the environment
has made conservation a more important objective. As a result, food production
and conservation are being brought together in land management policy
and discussions are under way for a CAP reform.
The Park Authority's Farm and Countryside Service , first launched during 1987/88, encourages a partnership between the farmers and the conservation bodies in land management and co-ordinates the help to farmers carrying out works that have conservation benefit. The basis of this service is
an agreement between the Park Authority, the Ministry of Agriculture,
the National Farmers Union, English Nature, English Heritage, the Forestry
Commission and the Country Landowners Association. In this way the Service
co-ordinates the many difference grant and advice schemes that are at
present in operation. The service includes a Farm Conservation Scheme
which provides grants not available from National Schemes.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DiversificationThe National Park Authority
is encouraging farming to change from a single purpose industry concerned
only with food production, to a multi-purpose industry concerned with:
Examples of diversification include:
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Points to ConsiderWhat affect do you think Foot and Mouth had on the local area - can you predict the trends in Peak District farming for the next 10 years? What do you think a Peak District farm will look like in 10 years time? What would change and what would be kept? Should we be concerned about this change? For more information on any of the subjects highlighted in this factsheet try searching the archive. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - |
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