Agricultural and horticultural census: June 1999

Citation

(2000), "Agricultural and horticultural census: June 1999", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 30 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2000.01730cab.002

Agricultural and horticultural census: June 1999

Agricultural and horticultural census: June 1999

The census provides estimates for all 145,000 main holdings in the UK though only a proportion of smaller holdings were selected for the sample. The change in the set-aside rate from 5 per cent to 10 per cent led to a 9 per cent decrease in the area of cereals. Adverse sowing conditions meant that fewer winter crops were planted. Winter barley area was down 29 per cent. A decrease of 17 per cent in the area of oil seed rape was more than offset by a 108 per cent increase in linseed area. The potato area increased by 10 per cent as farmers reacted to last year's high prices. The resultant increase in supply has caused prices to fall this year. The total number of cattle and calves is largely unchanged but the pig breeding herd has dropped by 9 per cent since June 1998. The number of sheep and lambs increased by 1 per cent. Agricultural labour is estimated to have fallen by 4 per cent.