Agriculture in transformation (2006)

The types of agriculture practised in the regions bordering the Channel exhibit appreciable differences between north and south. They are largely the product of different histories, the only commonality being provided by the temperate effects of an oceanic climate and the influence of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. The coastal areas themselves benefit from a ‘meridional' effect, especially on the English side, which favours the cultivation of vegetables, early growing varieties, as well as flowers. Localised areas, often cultivating a delicate product, succeed each other along the coast. Over in the far west, the Scilly Isles have conserved an old tradition of flower growing throughout the year. Around Penzance, and between Truro and Falmouth, vegetables take the lead over flowers. In the upper reaches of the rias, marine fertilizers are used by the small farms working tiny fields. The lower valley of the Tamar shows a preference for small fruits, while the Exe valley concentrates on vegetable production. If these western areas have always relied on links to London, the Southampton – Portsmouth conurbation and the Brighton ‘riviera' have promoted the recent development of horticulture, with a large area devoted to glasshouse cultivation.

The equivalent coast on the French side extends from Leon to Nord Cotentin. Here too, mild winters, with soils traditionally improved by added calcareous pitch sand and marine fertilizers, have favoured vegetable production. From Aber Vrach to Morlaix, and in the Tregorrois region, small fields bordered by raised banks, shelter cauliflower, artichoke and potato production, with sales facilitated by the organisation of all year round markets. Around St. Brieuc, and along the bay to the west, the "openfield" coastal landscape, is covered with tiny parcels of land arranged in strips and devoted to vegetable cultivation. Beyond Val de Saire, the whole coast has been given over to a new more balanced system, combining carrots, salad, leeks, cabbages and cereals, organised under the control of large cooperatives.

Dairy farming is also characteristic of these areas bordering the western Channel, but with a number of variations. In the bocage landscape of Cornwall, the production of cereals, root crops interspersed with temporary pasture, balances the permanent grassland. Four large granitic uplands (250 m to more than 600 m in height) overlook a landscape totally covered with heath above 300 m, and given over to sheep and ponies. Dartmoor is the largest of these uplands, and a national park. In Devon, permanent pasture predominates, and hedges with greater vegetal cover, and where farms of less than 100 ha are considered modest by English standards. Cider orchards are also characteristic. In herds of around 70 dairy cows, the Frisian has largely replaced the traditional Devon and Guernsey breeds. Factories produce milk and butter, as well as tinned meat, supplied by specialised pig farms.

To the south, Brittany, which previously had much in common with southwest England, has undergone an enormous transformation. If the regional nature park of Armorica has been instrumental in restoring the moorlands of the monts d'Arrée, other landscapes have been profoundly changed by an almost frantic intensification of agricultural practices. The hedge banks of the bocage were largely destroyed during the periods of land consolidation. The heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides increased the yields of the dominant crops, cereals and maize for fodder, for factory-based stock rearing. Family farms might appear small in size, but they are considered large in terms of their livestock of dairy cows, calves, pigs and poultry, a regional specialisation that places Brittany at the top of agricultural production for all French provinces. Powerful cooperatives and large agribusiness companies organise this important industry.

The bocage of Normandy and the Pays d'Auge, totally covered by permanent pasture in the last century, has seen much less transformation. Even though the bocage has been thinned out, it is well preserved in central Cotentin, the Pays d'Auge and Bessin, with extensive grasslands which recall the English enclosures. Although reduced in area, the co-planting of apple orchards for cider remains important, particularly in the Pays d'Auge. In stock rearing, largely for milk, the Frisian has become as important as the Norman breeds. These herds produce a series of guaranteed quality AOC products: dairy creams, Camembert, Livarot and Pont-l'Évêque cheeses. The region's horse-breeding industry (gymkhana and racing) is the most important in France.

Towards the east, from the Pays de Caux to Artois, and in evidence in the Caen plain, are the open fieldscapes given over to arable farming. In the Pays de Caux, the crop combinations include wheat, barley, sugar beet, linseed, rape on farms of around 100 ha. In western Picardie, polyculture gives over greater space to stock-rearing supported by the cultivation of fodder crops. In the midst of this "openfield" landscape, enclaves of bocage are found in the Pays de Bray and the Boulonnais with pasture and dairy farming, the former area specialising in soft cheeses and AOC Neufchâtel.

On the English side, the agricultural landscapes are more varied. In the Hampshire basin, sandy soils explain the extent of woodland cover. Open pasture and sheep farming have been reduced in importance and the bocage opened up. Very large farms, of several hundred hectares, specialise in cereal production and dairy farming. Along the Downs, extensive cereal cultivation, temporary pasture, juxtaposed with the wooded hill-tops of the central part, give way to stock-rearing on the pastures of the clay vales, and orchards producing cherries, apples and other small fruits, as well as occasional fields of hops, their presence signalled from afar by their picturesque drying, brick chimneys. Given the proximity of London, the number of part-time or ‘hobby farms' has increased.

Finally a number of low-lying coastal areas on both sides have developed particular specialisms of their own: ‘pré-salé' mutton reared on the salt marshes of the Mont-Saint-Michel, the production of hay and summer pastures for cattle and horses in the marshlands of the Cotentin peninsula, and intensive stock-rearing on drained areas of Romney Marsh.

Following the many, often rapid, transformations of the past, today's issues relating to environmental conservation, changing market and consumer demands, the sensitivities of embracing biotechnology and the impact of future European policies, all augur new changes to come.