Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture 2015

Economic Report on Scottish Agriculture 2015 presenting an overall picture of Scottish agriculture using data from the various agricultural surveys that RESAS manage.

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8. Comparison with Other UK Nations

8.1 Land use (Table C2)

The total agricultural area in Scotland, including common grazing, totalled 6.18 million hectares in 2014, representing 78 per cent of the total land area in Scotland. This proportion of total land cover is slightly higher than England and Northern Ireland (both 73 per cent) but lower than Wales (87 per cent).

The majority (59 per cent) of agricultural land in Scotland was rough grazing or common grazing (3.64 million hectares), a far higher proportion than in other UK countries, due to large areas of upland agricultural land in Scotland being suitable only for livestock grazing. In contrast grass covered 21 per cent of agricultural land in Scotland (1.31 million hectares), a far lower proportion than elsewhere in the UK.

Chart 8.1: Agricultural area for each UK country by land use, June 2014

Chart 8.1: Agricultural area for each UK country by land use, June 2014

Total crops and fallow land made up 589,000 hectares in Scotland (ten per cent of total agricultural area), double the proportions in Wales and Northern Ireland (both five per cent) but much lower than in England (44 per cent).

Total crops and fallow land in Scotland (589,000 hectares) made up 12 per cent of the UK total (5.0 million hectares). The following crops in Scotland accounted for large proportions of the UK total; spring barley (274,000 hectares or 42 per cent of the UK total) and potatoes (28,500 hectares or 20 per cent). The large area of spring barley can be partially accounted for by the demand of the whisky industry in Scotland, with spring barley the key ingredient for malting, though most barley in Scotland is used for animal feed. Conversely, the following crops accounted for much lower proportions of the UK total; maize (1,300 hectares or one per cent), orchard and soft fruit (757 hectares or two per cent) and oilseed crops (37,100 hectares or five per cent).

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