Farming in Britain

I. Make questions from these sentences

E.g.: Mr. David comes from Romania. Mr. David, a Romanian farmer
(Where…?) interested in British agriculture, has
Where does Mr. David come from? agreed to an invitation to spend a
weekend on a farm in the West
1. British farmers keep their cows out in the fields the
Midlands.
whole year round. (Where?)
2. Farmers avoid using fodder because it is Mr.Thompson, a British farmer, meets
expensive. (Why?) him and drives him to his farm. As they
3. There are more than one hundred cows on this drive along tidy country lanes with
dairy farm.(How many?) hedges on either side, they get into
4. He has been to the U.K., Germany, and France.
conversation:
(Which countries?)
5. He built a farm house in the West Midlands in Mr. Thompson: Did you have a pleasant
2005. (When? Where?) journey?
6. They have been working on this farm for three Mr. David: Yes, thank you, it was very
years (How long?) enjoyable. You know, I am fascinated
7. There are two stock farms and three dairy farms in
by the landscape, Mr. Thompson. I have
this village (How many?)
8. They’ve got £10,000 to start this project (How seen so many photographs of this rolling
much?) countryside and the patchwork of small
9. The farmer has just bought ten sheep and five fields divided by hedges and trees that it
cows. (What?) comes as quite a shock to see the real
10. Here are the farmer’s bills. (Whose?)
thing. It looks like the copy of a
II. Pair work: Ask and answer the questions. photograph.

III. Make these statements negative:

1. Cattle graze in the fields the whole year round.
2. It’s cold and it’s rainy. Mr. Thompson: This landscape is
3. The farmer spent much on fodder last year.
typical of most of lowland Britain, it's
4. Herds of dairy cattle are grazing in the meadows.
5. This fertilizer is often used on our farm. typically English. In the highland areas
there are not so many fields under crops.
In East England, on the other hand, there are very large, flat, treeless fields with only fences or
ditches between them.
Mr. David: What kind of farming do they carry on in this part of the country?
Mr. Thompson: Every kind you usually encounter: dairy farming, arable farming, stock farming,
market gardening. Dairy farming, for example, is very important here. Our mild, damp climate
favours this kind of farming, and the nearby centres provide a good market for fresh milk.
Mr. David: On my way here by coach I admired several flocks of sheep and herds of dairy cattle
grazing in the meadows. I also noticed how rich and green this pastureland is.
Mr. Thompson: You are right. British climate is relatively mild, so that the growing season is
relatively long and the grass stays green the whole part of the year. Besides, we do not have to
spend quite so much on fodder, which, as you probably know, is quite a large item on most
farmers′ bills. By the way, we keep our cows out in the fields virtually the whole year round.
They are only driven into the cowsheds to be milked or when they′re about to calve.
 Table talk

I. Discuss these questions with your partner:

1. What kind of landscape is typical of most lowland Britain?
2. In what way are the highland areas different?
3. What is the landscape in East England like?
4. What kind of farming do they carry on in West Midlands?
5. Why is dairy farming important there?
6. What effect does the mild climate have on the growing season?

A. “The land rose and fell in deep folds of green pasture, with patches of woodland. And every-
where, running up slopes and over ridges, were the stone walls. A folded green patchwork with
stone walls as its seams, liberally sprinkled with the white splodges of sheep. In some sections,
the railway itself was a thing of some beauty. In one long sweep, the line swung majestically
round the shoulders of a hillside, held in by high, curving limestone walls, then glided clean over
a valley across the crest of a towering embankment”. (Up Hill and Down Dale - The Sunday Re-
view, The Independent, 8 Oct 1995)

B. “The River Leem flows out of Norfolk into the Great Ouse. And'no one needs telling that the
land in that part of the world is flat. Flat, with an unrelieved and monotonous flatness, some
might say, to drive a man to unquiet and sleep-defeating thoughts. From the raised banks of the
Leem it stretched away to the horizon, its uniform colour, peat-black, varied only by the crops
that grew upon it - grey-green potato leaves, blue-green beet leaves, yellow-green wheat; its uni-
form levelness broken only by the furrowed and dead-straight lines of ditches and drains, which,
depending on the state of the sky and the angle of the sun, ran like silver, copper or golden wires
across the fields [...] A fairy-tale land, after all.”(Waterland by Graham Swift)
C. “The landscape of Hampshire, Surrey, Sussex and Kent is shaped by a chalk belt which
crosses the region, forming the North and South Downs, two ranges of rolling hills that run east
and south towards the sea - at the easternmost point, the North Downs form the famous white
cliffs of Dover. The countryside of the region is characterised by chalk ridges cut through by
steep, narrow valleys and their rivers, with small farms, orchards and hop fields. Patches of
dense woods are all that remain of the ancient forests that once covered this part of Eng-
land.”(Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy)

D. “What I saw was principally field upon field rolling off into the far distance. The land rose
and fell gently, and the fields were bordered by hedges and trees. There were dots in some of the
distant fields which I assumed to be sheep. To my right, almost on the horizon, I thought I could
see the square tower of a church. It was a fine feeling indeed to be standing up there like that,
with the sound of summer all around one and a light breeze on one's face.” (Remains of the Day by
Kazuo Ishiguro)`

Did you know ?

sda?//?/////a?/ !?
 90% of British families have a garden.
Tourism is the second most important industry in Britain.
65% of the active population work in services, tourism included.
National Parks account for a tenth of the countryside, and include 100
parks, 200 houses and 50 villages.
The average Briton drinks 90,000 cups of tea in a lifetime and about 100
litres of beer in a year.
The British are famous for being sweet-toothed: some people eat 8 kilos of
chocolate per year.
The British now eat more Indian and Chinese food than the traditional
fish and chips.

Language work

I. Fill in the blanks, with appropriate words:

1. ......... farming is very important in Britain.
2. In most of lowland Britain the fields are divided by trees and ....... .
3. British climate is ......... and ......... .
4. In the damper areas of the West, ......-land predominates; in the Eastern areas, which are drier,
there is more ........ land.
5. Arable land is land used for growing ......... .
6. When there is a bad harvest there is not enough winter ......... for the livestock.
7. Cattle graze in the ......... .
8. Mr. David admired several fine ...... of dairy cattle grazing in the meadows.
9. Cows are driven into ....... to be milked or when they are about to calve.
10. English ........ are often so narrow that it′s difficult for two milk lorries to pass each other.

II. Use the following word combinations in sentences of your own:

herds of dairy cattle, damp climate, stock farming, market gardening, to drive cows into
cowsheds, arable farming, dairy farming.
III. Replace the underlined words in the following phrases by adjectives from the text that are
opposite in meaning:
1. a wide road
2. hilly countryside
3. a harsh climate
4. fairly dry conditions
5. a rural area
6. highland areas

Idioms

a. to lead someone up the garden path - to deceive, to mislead someone.

e.g. We never realized we were being led up the garden path until it was too late.
b. everything in the garden is lovely - there is nothing to worry about or everything is
splendid.
e.g. The food was perfect and the management were so friendly; everything in the garden
was lovely until the waiter handed us the bill.
c. sell the farm - over-react, sell everything to invest in a new business.
e.g. The price of this building is very convenient, but don't sell the farm.
d. buy the farm - die, kick the bucket, pass away.
e.g. "Where's Henry?" "Oh, he bought the farm years ago - died of cancer."
e. hit the hay - to go to bed.
e.g. I think I’ll hit the hay now. I have to be up early in the morning.
f. make hay from - to take advantage of an opponent’s mistakes.
e.g. He always makes hay from the misdeeds of his colleagues and tries to become a
leader in this way.
g. go haywire - to go crazy, to lose control of oneself.
e.g. When his cat was run over, John went completely haywire and hit the motorist.
h. look for a needle in a haystack - to look for something that is impossible to find.
e.g. Tom’s office is in such a mess; finding your letter will be like looking for a needle in
a haystack.
i. make a mountain out of a molehill - make something that is unimportant seem
important
e.g. You are making a mountain out of a molehill with your going on and on about
his mistake.
j. ride herd on - watch closely and control someone
e.g. He has been riding herd on his employees so that he can get the job done in
time.
k. not to see the wood for the trees - not to be able to make out the essential because of the
details.
e.g. You have put in so much unnecessary details that one cannot see the wood for the
trees.
l. be out of the wood - to be out of trouble or danger.
e.g. Business is looking up, but there is still a lot of money to repay; we aren’t out of the
wood yet.
m. a babe in the woods - a defenseless person; a naive, young person.
e.g. He's just a babe in the woods. He needs someone to protect him.
 Proverbs

1. No morning sun lasts a whole day.

2. Lay up against a rainy day.
3. Provision in season makes a rich house.
4. The plough goes not well if the ploughman hold it not.
5. Eat till you sweat and work till you freeze.
6. Beauty may have fair leaves, yet bitter fruit.
7. Mills will not grind if you give them not water.

Website addresses

www.cobritishfarming.org.uk -countryside and British farming

www.ukagriculture.com - general farming information
www.tumpline.co.uk/agriculture/ - Links to a variety of resources relevant to British
agriculture.
www.rase.org.uk - Royal Agricultural Society of England, Society established in 1840 to keep
farmers informed and act as a voice for British agriculture as a whole in all aspects of farming,
food, and the countryside.
www.maff.gov.uk - UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Official information from
the UK Government department responsible for policy on the production and processing of food,
food safety, and the environmental impact of farming.