Arable farming is focused on growing crops. These include everything from wheat, oats and barley to vegetables, fruit, oilseed rape, and sugar beet. Arable farming is mostly concentrated in eastern and south-eastern parts of England, where the climate is drier, the soil rich, and low or flat land is abundant. However, there are pockets of crop production in other areas; for example, Scotland is a significant producer of barley, wheat, oats, and potatoes, while fruit farming is a major industry in South-West England.
In 2021, crops accounted for 40% of the UK’s agricultural production. Of these, DEFRA found that the most valuable were cereals, which were worth £4 billion. These were followed by vegetables and flowers at £3.2 billion (see ‘Horticultural Farming’ below), with industrial crops, potatoes, and others accounting for smaller shares.
Successful arable farming can be highly dependent on the weather. Unusually wet weather can result in poor yields and force farmers to leave land fallow that would otherwise be planted. Extremely dry weather can also have a major impact on yield.