farming is a key industry in Somerset.
The first farmers on Exmoor (4000 - 2000 BC) cleared areas
of forest, cultivated fields and kept cattle, sheep and pigs. Agriculture
on Exmoor evolved through the centuries and the managed landscape of
today shows the changing pattern of land use over several thousand years
due to agriculture and field sports.
Spring lambing
Today's farming economy is based on sheep and cattle rearing.
Breeds such as Exmoor Horn Sheep and Red
Devon Cattle were developed to suit local conditions. The dry stone
walls around Simonsbath were built
by shepherds who came south with their sheep, and many of the beech hedgebanks,
so typical of Exmoor today were planted in the 19th century when much
of the woodland was enclosed.
Until the mid 1980's, farmers were encouraged to reclaim
land for food production. Today the situation has changed: Exmoor is
now an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) and there are incentives
for farmers to adopt positive conservation measures.
However, income from the sale of stock and environmental
grants in many cases are insufficient to support livelihoods. Exmoor
farmers have had to diversify and many rely on 'sourcing' a percentage
of their income from hunting, shooting and fishing. This form of income
is vital at a time when hill and upland and farm incomes have dropped
by two-thirds in the last two years. There are many serious implications
of the farming crisis which would be further compounded by a ban on hunting,
for example:
64% of hill farmers are over 50. The next generation is
being discouraged from entering the industry by declining income levels.
Hunting provides the linking
thread to a myriad of social, sporting and cultural activities in the
hill community.
Hunts provide the service of collecting and disposing of fallen and casualty
stock. If this service disappeared it would cause potential environmental
problems.
The farming industry manages the British landscape and
much of the beneficial work undertaken is not paid for by grants but
is undertaken by individuals in the name of good stewardship, and in
the interests of providing and improving habitats for field sports.
Field sports and farmers are the linchpin of upland communities.
If either/or disappear the upland economy will collapse with job losses
and the destruction of the environment as we know today. Endangered Emoor demands that acknowledgement is made of
the vital importance field sports make to farming businesses, ancillary
industries, tourism and the wider rural economy.
There are roughly 300,000 sheep and lambs in Exmoor National
Park compared with a human population of over 10,000; a ratio
of about 30 to 1. sheep have grazed on Exmoor for more than
3,000 years together with smaller numbers of cattle and horses.
By consuming heather and tough moorland grasses as well as tree
seedlings, these animals have helped to maintain the Exmoor
scenery we know today. At present there are about 820 farms
and smallholdings within the National Park but few make all of
their income from farming and tourism has overtaken agriculture
as the main occupation of people living in the National Park.
Exmoor is mainly a hill farming region, although to the north
and east, in Porlock Vale and on the Brendon Hills, arable crops
are grown. In Porlock Vale there are areas of Grade 2 (i.e. very
good) land capable of producing high yields of cereals, vining
peas, linseed, swedes, potatoes and grapes. The few dairy farms
are mostly situated on the perimeter of the National Park where
the climate is milder.
In addition to the traditional commercial farming systems there
are some ‘diversified’ enterprises. The most common diversification
schemes are linked with the tourist industry and include farm
bed and breakfast, pony trekking, camp sites, cream teas and
holiday cottages.
There are a few fish farms and deer farms within the National
Park. Some farms keep rare or unusual breeds such as Longhorn
cattle and alpacas. These new enterprises provide useful
additional income for farmers whose returns from traditional
farming has dropped because of altered agricultural policies.
The hill farming economy is based on sheep and beef cattle.
Stock needs to be hardy to survive on the exposed moorlands in
a wet climate and the local Exmoor Horn sheep and Red Devon
cattle, while not as common as they used to be, are still found
on many farms. Other breeds of sheep, including Scottish
Blackface, Cheviot and Welsh, have been introduced to Exmoor
and cope as well as local breeds. Other hardy breeds of cattle kept
on Exmoor are Aberdeen Angus, Welsh Blacks and Hereford
crosses. Continental bulls such as Charolais and Limousin are
commonly crossed with upland cows, producing a bigger calf.
Most hill farms have access to a combination of moorland for
grazing, enclosed pasture and improved land where silage, hay
and root crops for winter feed can be grown.
Both sheep and cattle are managed traditionally, with lambing
and calving in the spring when the weather is improving and
grass starting to grow. ‘Fat’ (ready for the butcher) lambs and
weaned calves are sold in the autumn. The autumn calf sales are
generally busy as lowland farmers look for stock to keep over the
winter on lower ground. Some hill farmers will keep their weaned
calves and either sell them in the spring or keep them right through
the next year to be sold ready for the butcher at 18 months.
There are markets on the moor at Cutcombe and Blackmoor
Gate and nearby at Taunton and South Molton.
Changes in agriculture
During the Second World War Exmoor farmers joined the
national trend to produce more food. This intensification of
farming continued after the war fuelled by government grants.
Flower-rich pastures were replaced by higher yielding grasses
enhanced by artificial fertilizers and chemical control of weeds,
pests and diseases. Moorlands were ploughed to create more
intensive grassland. With improvements in livestock breeding,
there was a considerable increase in production.
This process happened throughout the European Community
leading to over-production. So quotas, limiting the farmers’
output, were introduced, linked to subsidies – payments made
for each cow and sheep. This initially encouraged more
ploughing and overgrazing of moorland. But with increasing
awareness of the importance of the environment, schemes were
introduced to reward environment friendly farming and help
farmers to manage land in the uplands. The whole subsidies
system is now being revised so that it will no longer be linked to
production but paid at a flat rate per hectare provided various
environmental and animal welfare conditions are met.
This improved technology and mechanization resulted in fewer
people being needed on the farms. Many were unable to find
alternative work on Exmoor so moved away.
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