Farms In England Research Articles

Review Essay: Discovering the Peoples of Michigan

Until publication of the series Discovering the Peoples of Michigan, readers looking for concise and accurate information about the numerous ethnic groups residing in the state had limited resources. Their options were restricted to lengthy anecdotal volumes or short introductory reference sources from agencies like the Michigan Department of Education. These new volumes take a much different approach. The editors, Arthur W. Helweg (Western Michigan University) and Linwood H. Cousins (University of North Carolina Charlotte), helped craft a series that tells the stories of various ethnic groups in Michigan at a scholarly, yet readable level. Currendy there are seventeen volumes, with more planned. The first title in the collection Ethnicity in Michigan: Issues and People sets the stage for future volumes by introducing readers to the concept of ethnicity and describing the basic immigrant experience in Michigan. The authors, Jack Glazier and Arthur Helweg, each contribute an essay: Glazier analyzes the general study of ethnicity, and Helweg places the subject in the more specific contexts of the United States and Michigan. Glazier defines ethnicity as the distinctive cultural patterns within the pluralism of the modern nation-state (p. 3) and an ethnic group as one among several groups within a single, complex, political order (p. 3). He argues convincingly that a shared religion, history, and particularly language are important factors in nurturing an ethnic group, but he also concludes that these are not required. Glazier points to research about second-generation immigrants in the United States, a majority of whom do not speak the ethnic language but still identify with a particular ethnic group. Helweg begins by detailing anthropological evidence of early Native-American immigration to modern-day Michigan. He then creates a historical context for the settlement of both America and Michigan by describing immigration patterns of, among others, European fur traders, New England farmers, European loggers, African Americans and poor white southerners, as well as nineteenthand twentieth-century European farmers and factory workers, World War II refugees, and, most recendy, Asian professionals and Latino migrant workers. Helweg's informative essay addresses many of the reasons why people

Bat activity and species richness on organic and conventional farms: impact of agricultural intensification

Summary Agricultural intensification is perceived to be a major cause of the decline in many European bat populations. Because organic farming prohibits the use of agrochemicals, we compared organic vs. conventional farm types to test the hypothesis that agricultural intensification based on high levels of agrochemical use has been a factor in bat population declines. Bat activity and species richness were compared on matched pairs of organic and conventional farms. Bat activity was quantified using acoustic surveys within specific habitats on farms in southern England and Wales. Eighty‐nine per cent of bat passes were identified to species level using artificial neural networks (ANN). A further 9% were identified to genus. Total bat activity was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. Significantly more bat passes were recorded over water on organic farms than on conventional farms. Foraging activity (quantified in two ways: total feedings buzzes and feeding buzzes per pass) was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. The dominant species on both farm types were Pipistrellus pipistrellus and Pipistrellus pygmaeus. Significantly more passes of Myotis species were recorded on organic farms than on conventional farms. This difference was also significant when water habitats were considered alone. The activity of both Myotis daubentonii and Myotis brandtii was significantly higher on organic farms than on conventional farms. The activity of Myotis bechsteinii and Myotis brandtii was significantly higher over organic water habitats than over conventional water habitats. Rhinolophus hipposideros and Rhinolophus ferrumequinum were only recorded on organic farms in wooded, arable and pasture habitats. Synthesis and applications. This study highlights the position of bats as bioindicators and victims of agricultural change. The differences in bat activity between farm types may reflect features such as taller hedgerows and better water quality on organic farms. Higher foraging activity also suggests that habitat quality in terms of prey availability is greater on organic farms. Less intensive farming benefits bats, and as the number of organic enterprises increases it may help to reverse declines in bat populations.

Consumer direct initiatives in North West England farmers’ markets

An investigation into the viability, sustainability and future developments of farmers’ markets in North West England was carried out in 2001. For this purpose, the attitudes of consumers, traders and organisers were surveyed. A primary research study was developed specifically to study North West farmers’ markets and to survey consumer attitudes to other direct selling initiatives. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used for data collection. A total of 34 farmers’ markets were active in the North West .The highest density was found in Cumbria. Over half of the markets in the North West were thriving or developing. However, more than 60 per cent of those in Lancashire were classified as surviving. Findings showed that customer loyalty was a key factor. A lack of funding for promotion and low produce diversity were identified as major problems. The study concluded that there appears to be a potential for growing and sustainable farmers’ markets, provided that the problems identified by this study are addressed.

Assessment of the welfare of dairy caftle using animal-based measurements: direct observations and investigation of farm records

A protocol was developed by consultation with experts on the welfare of cattle to use direct observations of cattle and an examination of farm records to assess welfare. Fifty-three dairy...

Anaemia and mortality in calves infested with the long-nosed sucking louse (Linognathus vituli)

Young calves which died on three dairy farms in England and Wales had generalised pallor and heavy infestations of the long-nosed sucking louse, Linognathus vituli. Surviving calves had packed-cell volumes,...

Genetic diversity among Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates from Bovines living on farms in England and Wales.

Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of Escherichia coli O157:H7 isolates (n = 228) from 122 healthy animals on 11 farms discriminated 57 types. Most clones were found only on individual farms. Numerous clones were found within each farm, with a prevalent clone normally found in several animals. A variety of clones were found within the different phage types.

Transmission dynamics of Toxoplasma gondii on a pig farm

Transmission of Toxoplasma gondii infection on a pig farm in New England was investigated using genetic and ecological methods to (i) determine if infection of pigs was a result of a single source, such as in an epizootic situation (e.g. outbreak) or of multiple sources, such as in an enzootic situation, (ii) identify the main source species of infection to pigs and (iii) evaluate the role of the environment surrounding the farm as the source of infection on the farm. Genetic characterization of 25 T. gondii isolates from market pigs revealed three distinct genotypes with no evidence of recombinants. These data imply that at least three distinct exposure events occurred during the 7-month lifespan of these pigs. This genotype diversity is consistent with enzootic transmission of T. gondii on the farm. Cats were suspected as the main source of pig infection based on the high seroprevalence (>95%) in pigs. The presence of the two most common T. gondii genotypes in eight isolates from free ranging chickens on this farm corroborated the role of cats because chickens were probably infected through ingestion of oocysts in the soil. The seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis in 163 wild mammals and birds captured around the pig sties (overall 13.1%) increased with proximity to the pig sties. Thus, transmission of T. gondii was higher near the pig sties than in the surrounding environment probably because of increased density of oocysts there. We propose that the farm does not simply reflect its surroundings in terms of strain composition and risk of infection, but that it acts as a reservoir of strains from which the outflow of new infections into its surrounding environment is higher than the inflow.

Population trends of Swallows Hirundo rustica breeding in Britain

Capsule There are regional and habitat differences, but no long-term decline in numbers. Aims To review the evidence for declining Swallow populations in Britain, based on the British Trust for Ornithology's long-running Common Birds Census (CBC) and suggest possible causes. Methods Trends were fitted to CBC data for 1964–98 using a generalized linear modelling framework and analysed with regard to specific regions and habitats. Current habitat use, particularly of different farming types, was characterized using data from the Breeding Bird Survey. Correlations between Swallow population size and loss of nest-sites and rainfall in the non-breeding grounds were examined. Results Although Swallow numbers show large annual fluctuations, there is no evidence for a long-term decline on CBC plots. Numbers seem to have declined on farms in eastern England and in non-farmland habitats, but were not correlated with changes in cattle numbers or with an index of regional changes in nest-site availability. The number of Swallows breeding each year in Britain was not correlated with rainfall on their wintering grounds but was correlated with rainfall in the western Sahel on spring migration. Conclusion Changes in farming practice do not appear to have had a long-term effect on Swallow numbers. Although Swallows show high breeding site fidelity, changes in breeding location may mean local declines are not reflected in regional or national population trends.

Soil type is the primary determinant of the composition of the total and active bacterial communities in arable soils.

Degradation of agricultural land and the resulting loss of soil biodiversity and productivity are of great concern. Land-use management practices can be used to ameliorate such degradation. The soil bacterial communities at three separate arable farms in eastern England, with different farm management practices, were investigated by using a polyphasic approach combining traditional soil analyses, physiological analysis, and nucleic acid profiling. Organic farming did not necessarily result in elevated organic matter levels; instead, a strong association with increased nitrate availability was apparent. Ordination of the physiological (BIOLOG) data separated the soil bacterial communities into two clusters, determined by soil type. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism analyses of 16S ribosomal DNA identified three bacterial communities largely on the basis of soil type but with discrimination for pea cropping. Five fields from geographically distinct soils, with different cropping regimens, produced highly similar profiles. The active communities (16S rRNA) were further discriminated by farm location and, to some degree, by land-use practices. The results of this investigation indicated that soil type was the key factor determining bacterial community composition in these arable soils. Leguminous crops on particular soil types had a positive effect upon organic matter levels and resulted in small changes in the active bacterial population. The active population was therefore more indicative of short-term management changes.

Habitat associations of European hares Lepus europaeus in England and Wales: implications for farmland management

Summary 1 Numbers of European hares Lepus europaeus have declined throughout Europe as a result of agricultural intensification. Ecological research to inform agricultural management policy is needed. We aimed to identify agricultural land management practices that may benefit this species, which is of conservation concern and of value as a game animal. 2 A postal survey of farmers was used to investigate relationships between the abundance of hares on farmland and current land management, the abundance of a possible competitor (rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus) and the abundance of two predators (buzzard Buteo buteo and fox Vulpes vulpes). 3 Questionnaires were sent to 3000 farms in England and Wales selected from the annual agricultural census database held by the UK government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the National Assembly for Wales. One-thousand and fifty farmers (35%) responded. Non-respondents were statistically similar to respondents, so the questionnaire data were considered representative of the opinions of farmers in England and Wales. 4 Hares were relatively common on arable farms, especially on those with wheat Triticum aestivum, beet Beta vulgaris or fallow land. They were less common on pastural farms, where the likelihood of seeing hares was increased if improved grass, woodland or, in some cases, arable land was present. The association of relatively frequent sightings of hares with arable land was consistent at four spatial scales (farm, parish group, county and region). 5 Hares were seen rarely where foxes were seen frequently. Hares were generally only hunted on farms where they were common. Hence, records of numbers of hares shot may be used as indices of hare abundance but only in areas where hares are common. 6 Forty-two per cent of farmers believed that hares were declining. Hare numbers were most likely to be increasing on arable farms. 7 Synthesis and applications. Changes in land management that provide year-round cover and forage may make farms more attractive to hares. To benefit hares, pastural farms should have some woodland, improved grass and arable crops; arable farms should have wheat, beet and fallow land.

Oral administration of formalin-inactivated cells of Aeromonas hydrophila A3-51 controls infection by atypical A. salmonicida in goldfish, Carassius auratus (L.).

There has been increasing interest in the use of probiotics in aquaculture to control fish diseases (e.g. Douillet Langdon 1994; Gildberg, Mikkelsen, Sandaker & Ringo 1997; Kennedy, Tucker, Neidic, Vermeer, Cooper, Jarrell & Sennett 1998; DeSchrijver & Ollevier 2000; Robertson, O'Dowd, Burrells, Williams & Austin 2000), and a diverse range of Gram-positive (such as Carnobacterium inhibens) (Robertson et al. 2000) and Gram-negative bacteria, including Vibrio alginolyticus (Garriques & Arevalo 1995), have been evaluated at various times. However, the possible use of probiotics to control diseases of ornamental fish has been neglected. Consequently, following previous success with live (Irianto & Austin 2002) and inactivated probiotics in salmonids (Irianto & Austin, in press), research has focused on the usefulness of inactivated bacterial preparations for the control of atypical Aeromonas salmonicida infections in goldfish, Carassius auratus (L.). Goldfish, of average 40-50 mm in length, were obtained from a commercial farm in England, and maintained in aerated re-circulating dechlorinated fresh water at 17 degrees C. Their health status was examined immediately upon arrival in the aquaria and at 1-2-week periods thereafter (after Austin & Austin 1989).

Estimation of technical inefficiency effects using panel data and doubly heteroscedastic stochastic production frontiers

In previous studies, measures of technical inefficiency effects derived from stochastic production frontiers have been estimated from residuals which are sensitive to specification errors. This study corrects for this inaccuracy by extending the doubly heteroscedastic stochastic cost frontier suggested by Hadri (1999) to the model for technical inefficiency effects. This model is a stochastic frontier production function for panel data as proposed by Battese and Coelli (1995). The study uses, for illustration of the techniques, data on 101 mainly cereal farms in England. We find that the correction for heteroscedasticity is supported by the data. Both point estimates and confidence intervals for technical efficiencies are provided. The confidence intervals are constructed by extending the “Battese-Coelli” method reported by Horrace and Schmidt (1996) by allowing the technical inefficiency to be time varying and the disturbance terms to be heteroscedastic. The confidence intervals reveal the precision of technical efficiency estimates and show the deficiencies of making inferences based exclusively on point estimates.

Agricultural Sustainability and Open-Field Farming in England, c.1650–1830

Recent debates about modern farming have come to be couched in the terminology of sustainable agriculture, a concept originally developed in respect of international post-World War Two farming, and especially in developing countries. In this paper we ask whether there is a historical dimension to the sustainability question and, in particular, whether by recasting the approach to the long-term development of agriculture it is possible to develop a new view of the manner in which farming has changed through time. We look at open-field farming where it dominated the agriculture of 17th and 18th century England. We show how collective community action had developed over many centuries to protect scarce land resources, and how pressures upon these resources through changing economic and demographic conditions inspired communities to develop and promote sustainable methods of husbandry and management. We demonstrate this world of sustainability through its maintenance of the ecological integrity of the land resource, the economic climate in which it operated, and the equitable ownership and decision-making processes that kept it in place. We also show that eventually the ecological integrity was put under mounting economic pressure arising from demographic forces, and also the external pressures arising from war. In particular we show how such pressures compromised the equitable ownership and access to land resources.

Theodore B. Wilcox: Captain of Industry and Magnate of the China Flour Trade, 1884-1918

DanielJ.Mei?ner Theodore ?. Wilcox Captain ofIndustry andMagnateofthe China Flonr Trade,1884-1918 The situation now awaits theman. Another Governor C.C. Washburn [who] would lead theAmerican millers to a glorious trade conquest, beside which the achieve ments of thepast would he dwarfed into insignificance. "There is the east; there is theOrient," should be the watch-word of theAmerican miller. . . . What iswanted today in themilling trade isjust one largeman. . . . ? The NorthwesternMiller, 18971 ^^^P^hat "one large man" eager to mount the podium of en trepreneurial greatness was already prepared to accept one of themost singular commercial challenges of the era: cultiva tion of the tremendous flour markets of China. Theodore Burney Wilcox?an ambitious New England bank tellerwho had become an aggressive Portland businessman ? had systematically built his flour milling company into one of themost successful enterprises on the Pacific Coast. Like other great "boomers" of the Gilded Age, however, his goal was not one merely of success but also of empire. He envisioned a vast milling conglomerate that would draw upon the boundless wheat sup plies ofOregon's Willamette Valley and the Palouse in easternWashington to provide flour for the insatiable millions of Asia. Given Wilcox's busi ness acumen, tenacity, and temperament, few of his contemporaries enter tained any doubt that he would ultimately achieve his objective. 518 OHQ vol. 104, no. 4 ? 2003 Oregon Historical Society OHS neg.,OrHi 24259 i^&% f t**?****?*^ Great stockpiles ofbagged wheat testify to the productivity ofOregonfarmers who supplied themills of Theodore Wilcox s flour empire. The path to such lofty aspirations began inAgawam, Massachusetts, where Wilcox was born on July8,1856, toHenry and SarahWilcox. "Thede," as he was known as a child, grew up in a hard-working, middle-class fam ily. At theageoffive, he lostthethumband indexfinger ofhis right hand in a hay-cutter accident. Resilient and undaunted, he overcame his im Meissner, Theodore B.Wilcox 519 pairment by learning towrite equally well with either hand. After gradu ating from public high school, he entered thework force as an office boy in the Hampton National Bank ofWestfield, Massachusetts. The position did not suit him well. Ambitious even as a teenager,Wilcox sought chal lenge and responsibility but was resigned by his youth and handicap to running errands and sweeping floors. An early opportunity to advance arosewhen theprincipal tellerfellillandWilcox volunteeredtofill the position. He demonstrated to hesitant bank administrators that despite his injured hand he was able to count bills quickly and accurately, and he proved so competent at the task that he was promoted to clerk, a position he held for the next five years.2 In 1877,Asahel Bush II, co-director of the Ladd & Bush banking firm in Salem, Oregon, was traveling on the East Coast in search of a talented, adventurous young man to fill a vacant position in the firm's Portland bank. When Bush met Wilcox at theHampton Bank, he was so impressed by the young clerk's "enterprise and ability" that he immediately offered him the job.3 Wilcox accepted without hesitation, and at the age of twenty two set sail for Portland - a small town an entire continent away that offered precisely the mix of stability, challenge, and prospects that he deemed necessary to fulfillhis own potential.4 Wilcox settled in rooms above the bank and started working the teller window. His efficiency and sound judgment soon drew the attention of the bank president, William Ladd, who began seeking his advice on business investment opportunities. LikeWilcox in temperament, Ladd had been an adventuresome New England farmer,who in 1851at the age of twenty-five had set sail for the West Coast tomake his fortune ? not in the rugged gold fields ofCalifornia like somany others but in supplying miners head ing out from Portland.5 Selling everything from shaving soap to blasting powder, he quickly expanded his small business into a thrivingmercantile enterprise.6 In 1852, he formed theMessrs. Ladd & Tilton Company with San Francisco merchant and boyhood friend Charles Tilton; the follow ing year, they erected the firstbrick building inPortland near the corner of Front and Stark. As Portland grew, the company expanded; and in 1859, the partners founded the Ladd & Tilton Bank, capitalized with $50,000 of...

Development and validation of a simulation model for blowfly strike of sheep.

A comprehensive simulation model for sheep blowfly strike due to Lucilia sericata (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae), which builds on previously published versions but also incorporates important new empirical data, is used to explain patterns of lamb and ewe strike recorded on 370 farms in south-west, south-east and central England and Wales. The model is able to explain a significant percentage of the variance in lamb strike incidence in all four regions, and ewe strike in three of the four regions. The model is able to predict the start of seasonal blowfly strike within one week in three of the four regions for both ewes and lambs, and within 3 weeks in the fourth region. It is concluded that the accuracy of the model will allow it to be used to assess the likely efficacy of new control techniques and the effects of changes in existing husbandry practices on strike incidence. The model could also be used to give sheep farmers advance warning of approaching strike problems. However, the ability to forecast future strike patterns is dependent on the accuracy of the weather projections; the more long-term the forecast, the more approximate the prediction is likely to be. When applied on a regional basis, model forecasts indicate expected average patterns of strike incidence and may not therefore be appropriate for individual farmers whose husbandry practices differ substantially from the average.

Effects of haying on salt-marsh surface invertebrates.

Marsh plants may affect the structure of epibenthic communities in a variety of ways. They might reduce temperature stress on organisms by shading, provide refuge from predators, increase the rate of organic matter accumulation at the sediment surface, and serve as a food source. Thus, salt marsh plants might control the spatial distributions of epibenthic invertebrates within the marsh. An ongoing “experiment” on the impact of the periodic removal of plants has been carried out by New England farmers who have been haying some salt marshes for over 300 years. Earlier research by the Plum Island Estuary Long-Term Ecological Research project (PIE-LTER) has shown that haying causes a short-term increase in the growth of benthic algae (1), causes a shift in the diet of some marsh invertebrates to a greater percentage of algae (2), and results in a change in plant species composition (PIE-LTER, unpubl. results). To determine the shortand long-term effects of haying on the epibenthic community and to identify the principal variables controlling the distribution of epibenthic invertebrates, we carried out two sets of experiments: a marsh-grass-removal experiment to mimic the effects of haying and a survey of invertebrates in areas of the marsh subjected to different haying schedules. Our work was conducted in the Plum Island Sound estuary in Rowley, Massachusetts, from June to August 2002. For our marsh-grass-removal experiment, we clipped and removed the vegetation from three randomly selected circular sites of 3-m radius along a 50-m transect in a marsh that is hayed roughly every other year. Before clipping we counted organisms in four 0.25-m sampling areas, located 1.5 m from the center of the circle and equidistant from each other, within each of the three sites. We sampled the same four areas within each site immediately before clipping, and 1 and 4 days after clipping. Differences in abundances of organisms before and after clipping were evaluated by the Kruskal-Wallis test with time of sampling as treatment. Because differences among circular hayed sites were not significantly different, we pooled replicates from each site before our analysis. For our surveys of invertebrates in areas subjected to different intensities of haying, we examined randomly selected sites in recently hayed and reference marshes along 12 previously established transects for which GPS elevation data were available. We sampled 40 sites between 1 and 3 July, and 40 more between 16 and 18 July. At each site, we visually estimated percent cover of different plant species. A count of organisms was made after clipping all vegetation from 0.25-m plots. A 177-cm plant sample was collected, live biomass was separated from standing dead biomass and weighed separately to determine above-ground biomass. Commonly encountered plants included Spartina patens, Spartina alterniflora, Distichlis spicata, Salicornia europaea, and Juncus gerardi. To evaluate the effect of plant cover on predation rate, we tethered amphipods, Orchestia grillus, to thin-diameter line and deployed 5 per site at most sites for 24 h before clipping. We used stepwise multiple regression to describe the relationship between measured environmental variables and abundance of epifauna for the 16–18 July sampling period (criteria P 0.1 to accept, P 0.25 to reject). Environmental variables used in stepwise multiple regression were haying frequency, elevation, temperature, humidity, dried live plant biomass, dried standing dead, total dried weight, percent live, percent dead, percent bare, percent S. alterniflora, percent S. patens, percent D. spicata, percent S. europaea, percent Atriplex patula, percent Triglochin maritima, percent Iva frutescens, proportion tethered live amphipods, and proportion eaten tethered amphipods. Collinearity among environmental variables was assessed by examining the variance inflation factor for each included variable. All variance inflation factors were less than 2, which indicated that collinearity among independent variables did not significantly affect our results. A few sampling sites were omitted from the regression analysis due to missing data. Analyses were performed using SPSS software.

Survival rates, causes of failure and productivity of Skylark Alauda arvensis nests on lowland farmland

This paper analyses data from 995 Skylark Alauda arvensis nests found on lowland farms in southern England from 1996 to 1998. The majority of recorded nest failures were caused by predation except in agricultural grass, where trampling and agricultural operations were equally important. Nest survival rates varied between crop types, nests in cereals being around twice as likely to succeed as nests in grass or set‐aside. In cereals, nest survival rates increased with increasing distance from the nearest tramline and declined over the course of the breeding season. Predator control also had a significant independent effect on nest survival rates. On one farm where many other factors were held constant, a highly significant increase in nest survival rates from 12.3% to 40.7% coincided with the introduction of intensive predator control, which also appeared to bring forward mean laying dates. Most environmental factors explaining significant variation in nest survival rates did so only at the chick stage. The mean number of chicks produced per nesting attempt was 1.26 in cereals, 0.78 in set‐aside and 0.63 in grass, the differences being due primarily to variation in nest survival rates. Low densities of Skylark territories in cereal crops are not therefore the consequence of low breeding success at the scale of the individual nest and probably reflect limitations on the number of attempts made in a season. Measures taken to improve the attractiveness of cereal crops as a nesting habitat for Skylarks, and beneficial changes in grassland management, are likely to increase overall productivity.

A comparative study of the microbiology of soils managed under organic and conventional regimes

Abstract. Previous studies of the microbial status of soils managed under ‘organic’ and ‘conventional’ regimes have produced conflicting evidence of whether there are distinct differences in the size, composition and activity of the soil microbial biomass which may be attributed to management practice. In the present study, we have compared the microbiology of organically‐ and conventionally‐managed soils at (primarily) two farms in England, over a two year period. Differences in microbial communities in soils under different management practice were subtle rather than dramatic. Many of the parameters measured, including total C and microbial biomass C, often showed no consistently significant differences in soils under different management. In soils from one farm, concentrations of ATP in Ringers solution soil extracts were mostly found to be significantly greater in organically‐managed than in comparable conventionally‐managed soils. While indirect (plate) counts showed that there were similar numbers of cultivable microorganisms present in these soils, total counts of bacteria (via DAPI‐staining) were found to parallel the trends found for readily‐extractable ATP. Numbers of metabolically‐active bacteria, determined by FISH analysis using a EUB338 probe to detect ribosome‐rich cells, indicated that the percentage of metabolically‐active bacteria present was not determined by management practice. Total and active fungi were also found to be more abundant in organically‐managed soils. It was concluded that changes in soil microbiology may occur as a consequence of switching to organic land management, but these may not be detectable by methods used frequently to assess soil biomass. In particular, increased numbers of viable but non‐culturable bacteria and fungi in organically‐managed soils points to a greater physiological diversity of microorganisms in such situations.

The future of farming in England

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An alternative way to assess water erosion of cultivated land – field-based measurements: and analysis of some results

In the early 1980s, the Ministry of Agriculture in England and Wales took the decision to assess whether water erosion was a problem, deciding to answer the question through field-based assessment rather than by using plot experiments. Although giving valuable information on the rates, frequency and extent of erosion, as well as delivery of sediment out of catchments, the results do not allow rates to be related to individual parameters so that rates of erosion can be predicted. The results from the monitoring scheme explain why farmers think erosion is of little importance. In the vast majority of instances, erosion does not affect how the farmer manages the land nor does it lead to a large enough removal or burial of the crop to affect farm profitability. The rates of erosion in England and Wales are compared with those measured in the field in other countries. Although, within any particular environment, mean and maximum rates cover a wide range of values, mean values generally relate well to climate and soils, rates being higher where storms are more frequent, or where intense rains or rain coinciding with snowmelt fall on erodible soils. Maximum values reflect rainfall intensities and amounts falling in rare storms. A field-based approach such as that described here provides a rapid and realistic way to assess erosion and the results can be validly compared across a wide range of environments.