By the time the clouds have reached the East of the UK most of the rain has already fallen. Leaving the East dry. This has major impacts on agriculture, with pasture land for dairy farming being in the west because of lush green grass, and arable agriculture taking place in the drier east. Under 16 C Temperature is also important when concerned with agriculture. Dairy farming requires warm conditions for grass to grow all year round.
Arable crops require warm temperatures in order to mature before being harvested.
The South West of the country is kept warm in the winter due to a warm ocean current that flows past the Cornish coast, this is known as the Mid Atlantic Drift, and allows grass to grow almost all year round. This results in Dairy farming taking place in this area. Upland areas cause problems for farmers due to poor quality and thin soils which have limited use for crops. Even if the soils were of a good quality and contain lots of nutrients, steep land would limit the use of machinery such as combines as they are not capable of handling sharp inclines. This results in upland areas being used for sheep farming, as sheep can handle the steep slopes, cold climate and can survive on low quality grazing plants.