VIII. Crops

Structure of the Chapter:

Introduction:

After studying this chapter students should understand crop rotations and for what purpose they are used, then they should be able to describe combinable crops and cereals markets.

 

Key Words:

Crop rotation - an important way of maintaining the fertility of farmland by changing crops in a particular field
Ley - an area of land temporarily under grass
Fodder - dried food, hay etc. for farm animals
Fertility - state of being fertile i.e. able to produce a large number of good quality crops
Nutrient - serving as or providing nourishment
Pest - an insect or small animal which is harmful or which damages crops
Yield - the amount of crops produced
Manure - animal waste from stables and cow barns, or other material, natural or artificial, spread over or mixed with the soil to make it fertile
Legume - a plant that has its seeds in a long thin case, such as the bean or pea
Harvest - to cut and gather grain and other food crops
Ripen - to make or become ripe (ready to be gathered and used)
Arable - used for or suitable for growing crops
Feed - food for animals
Starch - white, tasteless, carbohydrate food substance, plentiful in potatoes and grain
Sound - healthy, in good condition, not decayed
Moisture - condensed vapour on a surface
Brew - to make beer
Gluten - sticky substance (protein) that is left when starch is washed out of flour

Pre-reading Tasks:

Find all the meanings of the term of “crop” in any explanatory dictionary.
Have a look at the picture at the beginning of this unit and then name and translate some of the crops.
What crops are grown in the region where you live?


listening

Specialist text:

Arable cropping

There are many workable crop rotations, reflecting the diversity of crop enterprises and their combinations within production units across the UK. On mixed farms a 2- or 3-year ley will form the backbone of the rotation with forage maize or other fodder crop also in the sequence. Crop rotations are used to:
- maintain soil fertility and obtain maximum benefit from natural nutrient cycling
- give opportunity for cultural control of weeds and cheaper chemical control of weeds
- control or minimize effect of soil-borne pests and diseases
- encourage biodiversity within the farm system
- make optimum use of natural resources
- spread risk and maximize financial returns

Historically, the chief importance of rotations was in relation to soil fertility. Before the invention of artificial bagged fertilizer, methods for maintaining soil fertility were essential to ensure that yields did not decline as the land became exhausted. There was great reliance on manure and legumes for restoring the fertility after exhaustive crops. Rotating different crops around the same piece of land helped this process.
The annual DEFRA publication Agriculture in the United Kingdom should be consulted for current detailed crop production figures:
Total cropped area: 4,665,000 ha
Cereals: 3,348,000 ha
Oilseed rape: 332,000 ha
Linseed: 71,000 ha
Field beans and peas: 208,000 ha
Sugar beet: 173,000 ha
Potatoes: 166,000 ha
Vegetables: 119,000 ha
Bare fallow area: 37,000 ha

Combinable crops:

Combinable crops are those grown for the grain or seed, harvested at relatively low moisture contents. Grain/seed ripening requires warm dry conditions and thus all the UK combinable crops are grown for harvest in the summer/early autumn period in order to take advantage of the seasonal climate. Products are then stored to supply the market all year round. The cropping system on the majority of UK arable farms is based on the combinable crop season and requirements. Most UK combinable crops are grown under the Assured Combinable Crops Scheme which ensures that the product is produced using good agricultural practice and is traceable.

Cereals:

Cereals are grown for animal feed and human consumption both for use in the UK and as exports. The animal feed grain market accepts wheat, barley, oats, and the price obtained reflects the extractable starch or energy content of the grain. Thus wheat commands a higher price than barley and barley a higher price than oats. Oats can be sold into the specialist horse feed market at higher prices. Quality standards in the UK are appearing in the animal feed grain sector and the price can be reduced if grain is below a target specific weight. Generally though the main quality requirement is sound grain of below 15% moisture content with a contaminants content below 5%. The feed price is generally the lowest price in the market.
Grains sold for human consumption include the major markets of wheat for bread and biscuits, ad barley for brewing. Other specialist markets include wheat for cake flours, barley for other domestic uses, wheat and oats for breakfast cereals, wheat for gluten extractions and rye for crispbread. The human consumption markets command premiums over feed grains but demand stricter quality requirements which are assessed in the laboratories at the intake site.

Comprehension questions:

  1. What will form the backbone of the rotation with forage maize or other fodder crop on mixed farms?
  2. What does the Assured Combinable Crops Scheme ensure?
  3. Where can oats be sold?
  4. What is the main quality requirement in the animal feed grain sector?
  5. What do grains sold for human consumption include?
 
top

Activities:

I. Decide whether the following sentences are true or false:

  1. Rotating different crops around the same piece of land helped the process for restoring soil fertility.
  2. Crop rotations are used to discourage biodiversity within the farm system.
  3. All the UK combinable crops are grown for harvest in the early spring period.
  4. Grain ripening requires warm dry conditions.
  5. Cereals are grown only for animal feed grain market.
  6. The main quality demand is sound grain of below 5% moisture content.
  7. Crop rotations reflect the diversity of crop enterprises and their combinations within production units across the UK.
  8. Wheat can be sold into the specialist horse feed market at higher prices.
 
top

II. Complete the following table:

Verb Adjective Noun
growing
strength
consuming
combinable
fertility
rotating
demanding
Trace
acceptance
dependent

 
top

III Fill in the correct prepositions:

Soil types and rooting
Cereals can be grown 1) a wide variety 2) soil types provided a suitable seedbed can be cultivated. The yield potential 3) the crop is, however, related 4) the moisture-holding capacity 5)  the soil. This is particularly the case 6)   a dry summer. Cereals yielding about 6t/ha will transpire about 100 to 125mm 7)   water during grain filling, and whilst some of this will come 8)   rainfall most must come 9)   the soil’s storage capacity. Early maturing crops should be grown 10)   soils that are particularly low 11)   available water-holding capacity.

 
top

IV. Match the words with the same or similar meaning:

1) requirement   a) advantage
2) benefit   b) humidity
3) assess   c) turn up
4) specialist   d) piece of land
5) essential   e) professional
6) enterprise   f) demand
7) plot   g) evaluate
8) different   h) various
9) appear   i) firm
10) moisture   j) key

 
top

V. Quiz

Look at the sentences below and choose the right answer.
1. Rotations insure that all fields benefit from restorative
fertility
crops
fodder
2. Growing one crop too frequently allows the associated pest to
build up
turn up
give up

to infestation levels.
3. Crop rotations are used to give opportunity for cheaper chemical weeds
checking
control
examining
4. Many varieties are ..... for each crop type.
available
reliable
dependable
5. Export markets ...... in recent years.
are growing
had been growing
have been growing
6. ...... crops are those harvested at relatively low moisture content.
Combinable
Combining
Combined
7. The feed price is generally ..... price in the market.
the lower
the low
lower
8. The human ..... markets demand stricter quality requirements for crops.
consuming
consume
consumption
9. Each seed produces a single plant which during its vegetative phase initiates
leaves
leaf
leafs
10. Harvesting is best ..... when grain moisture is about 15%.
carried out
given out
taken out
 
top

Summary:

This chapter deals with crop rotations, combinable crops and cereals markets. Students will learn the terminology of this topic in a specialist text and in number of activities.

Literature:

The Agricultural Notebook edited by R. J. Soffe, Blackwell Publishing Company 2003


Home page

Checks:

Comprehension Check:

  1. 2-or 3-year ley
  2. that the product is produced using good agricultural practice
  3. oats can be sold into specialist horse feed market
  4. sound grain of below 15% moisture content with a contaminants content below 5%
  5. wheat for bread and biscuits and barley for brewing

Check I:


T, F, F, T, F, F, T, F

Check II

Verb: grow, strengthen, consume, combine, fertilize, rotate, demand, accept, depend
Adjective: strong, traceable, fertile, acceptable
Noun: growth, consumption, trace, combination, rotation, demand, dependence

Check III:

1) on, 2) of, 3) of, 4) to, 5) of, 6) in, 7) of, 8) from, 9) from, 10) on, 11) in

Check IV

1f, 2a, 3g, 4e, 5j, 6i, 7d, 8h, 9c, 10b

Check V

  1. b
  2. a
  3. b
  4. a
  5. c
  6. a
  7. b
  8. c
  9. a
  10. a
top