The graph show that fewer people work in British farms. The reasons for this include

• Mechanisation - machines take the place of many workers; also fewer horses are used and they needed a lot of looking after
• Larger farms run efficiently need fewer workers
• Workers have to be paid - the farm owner wants to make as much money as possible
  fewer workers = more profit

The yield is the amount of a crop that is grown from an area of land. This graph shows that the amount of wheat that British farmers have been able produce from an hectare of land has greatly increased. The reasons for this include

• Increased use of fertiliser which help the growth of plants
• Increased use of pesticides which reduce plant disease and damage from insects
• Greater knowledge and expertise in farming
• Guarenteed prices from the European Union means the farmers could still get a good price for their crop even if it was overproduced
• Many hedges have been removed which meant fewer small fields and more efficient farming practices

Set-aside is land the farmers are paid not to farm. It was introduced as European Union farmers were producing more crops than people needed. These extra crops then had to be stored, often at great expense. This overproduction has been reduced by farming less land.

As more and more young people are going on to colleges and universities from school, and some courses cannot take all the applicants, I wonder if teachers will soon be paid not to teach!

On a less cynical note, set-aside was also introduced to allow nature (plants, insects and animals) to recover away from intensive agriculture, and its reliance on artificial chemicals.

The graphs are based on information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food website.