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Rural: UK N5

by Mr Bell

Pages 2 and 3 of 16

Human Environments 3
RURAL
UK

National 5
Geography
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RURAL UK
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Within the context of Developed Countries:

In the context of rural areas:

1.changes in the rural landscape in developed countries, related to modern developments in farming such as:

1. Diversification

2. Impact of new technology

3. Organic farming

4. Genetic Modification (GM)

5. Current government policy
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1. Diversification
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Farming is a tough industry and many smaller farmers struggle to make a living. To help increase their income, many farmers have turned to non-farming related activities. This is known as diversification. Farmers put their land to a variety of uses including:

Tourism
renting out cottages as holiday homes
offering bed and breakfast facilities
providing camp and caravan sites

Enterprise
fishing
cafes and farm shops
fruit picking

Recreation/leisure
adventure activities such as quad biking and off-roading
paintball
horse riding
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Diversification - Effects

When farmers use other ventures such as farm shops it helps to boost the farmers’ income, allows farmers to become more independent and less reliant on subsidies.

Wind farm development on farming land also generates extra income.
2. New technology
Machinery
Since the 1950s there has been a massive increase in the use of farm machinery such as tractors, ploughs, combine harvesters and seed drills.

Chemicals - fertilisers and pesticides
There has been an increase in the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides to try to improve crop yields and farmers profits. Chemical fertilisers have also enabled crops to be grown on marginal areas with poorer quality soil.
Machinery
Chemicals
New Technology - Effects 

Machinery using GPS to manage field operations or animal feeding saves time, drones may be used to survey fields of crops which helps farmers to quickly identify problems.
However cost of buying and maintaining this equipment and machinery is expensive.

Chemical fertilisers and insecticides are widely used to improve production on farms, less labour required which has led to a decrease in population in rural areas.
But overuse of chemicals may result in environmental damage.
3. Organic Crops
Farming without the use of artificial chemicals has grown due to consumer demands
More labour intensive as farmer must give more time and effort
Decreases river pollution
Farmer needs to be more skillful to cultivate poor soils
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