Revisiting the Multiple Benefits of Historical Crop Rotations within Contemporary UK Agricultural Systems

Abstract

Abstract On many farms, current cultivation and planting practices hold little resemblance to those of the past. However, with volatility in fertiliser price, changing climatic conditions, stricter environmental legislation and a requirement for alternatives to high input farming, it is perhaps timely to reconsider the potential for crop rotation. Historical records show that practiced rotations have changed due to adaptation of cropping systems, machinery, inputs and economics. Despite this regional differences in rotations, in terms of length of cropping sequence, practiced in the United Kingdom, and in particular Scotland still exist and persist in many organically managed systems. Knowledge gained from past experiences can be utilised and where appropriate used to support modern cropping systems. Keywords: Rotationsustainablesoil fertilityley farmingalternate husbandry Acknowledgments This work was conducted with funding from the Scottish Government Work Package 1.7 and with the support of the Scottish Agricultural College. The reported observations were initially presented at the New Rotational Design (NeRD) workshop held in Edinburgh of September 29, 2008. The assistance of Dr Philip Crooks and Mr Martyn Warren is recognised in helping to source material 20th century rotation information and providing guidance on the manuscript.