Agriculture in the United Kingdom
Common name Latin name Crops affected
Barren brome Anisantha sterilis Cereals
Black bindweed Polygonum persicaria Broad-leaved crops
Blackgrass Alopecurus myosuroides Winter cereals
Bracken Pteridium aquilinum Upland and hill grassland
Buttercups Ranunculus spp Grassland
Charlock Sinapis arvensis Broad-leaved crops
Chickweed Stellaria media Broad-leaved crops
Cleavers Galium aparine Broad-leaved crops
Corn marigold Chrysanthemum segetum Cereals
Couch Elytrigia repens spp Grassland
Docks Rumex spp Grassland
Dove's-foot cranesbill Geranium molle Broad-leaved crops
Fat hen Chenopodium album Broad-leaved crops
Hemp nettle Galeopsis spp Broad-leaved crops
Japanese knotweed Reynoutria japonica Grassland
Knotgrass Polygonum aviculare Broad-leaved crops
Mayweeds Matricaria spp . ; Anthemis spp Broad-leaved crops ; cereals
Mouse-eared chickweed Cerastium fontanum Grassland
Redshank Polygonum persicaria Broad-leaved crops
Rushes Juncus spp Wet grassland
Arable farming -- Weeds
Main article : Crop weed See also : Weeds Act 1959 Common ragwort growing in Scotland . Ragwort is a problem weed throughout the UK Historically weed control was by hand-pulling of weeds , often during `` fallowing '' ( which means leaving the land to carry no crop for a season , during which time the weeds can be found and removed ) . In 1896 it was found that a copper sulphate solution would kill broad-leaved weeds without seriously damaging young cereal plants . Other chemical weedkillers were soon discovered and now common chemical weedkiller ingredients include sodium chlorate , copper chloride , sulphuric acid , dinitroorthocresol and dinitrobutylphenol . Hormone-based weedkillers are used to kill weeds more selectively . Although most weeds are vulnerable to at least one of these substances , eradicating all the weeds from a particular area will usually need several different weedkillers . The use of pesticides has declined , and British farmers now use about a third less pesticides than they did in 1983 . The crop needing most pesticides is wheat . [ 99 ] [ 100 ] [ 101 ] [ 102 ]
Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses 69% of the country's land area, employs 1.5% of its workforce (476,000 people) and contributes 0.62% of its gross value added (£9.9 billion). The UK produces less than 60% of the food it eats. Although agricultural activity occurs in most rural locations, it is concentrated in East Anglia (for crops) and the South West (livestock). There are 212,000 farm holdings, which vary widely in size. Despite skilled farmers, high technology, fertile soil and subsidies, farm earnings are relatively low, mainly due to low prices at the farm gate. Low earnings, high land prices and a shortage of let farmland discourage young people from joining the industry. The average age of the British farm holder is now 59. Recently there have been moves towards organic farming in an attempt to sustain profits, and many farmers supplement their income by diversifying activities away from pure agriculture. Biofuels present new opportunities for farmers against a background of rising fears about fossil fuel prices, energy security, and climate change. There is increasing awareness that farmers have an important role to play as custodians of the British countryside and wildlife.