Landscapes and food production

What is a landscape?

A landscape is ‘everything we can see in a particular place’. In an urban landscape, you might see buildings, grass and trees and in a rural landscape, you might see fields, mountains and barns.

Around 80% of Scotland’s land area (6.2 million hectares) is used for agriculture.

People living and working on the land have formed Scotland’s current landscapes over many generations. The move from hunting and gathering to farming began around 4000 BC – 2500BC. As people settled in areas, they started to use tools, clear areas and build homes and other buildings.

Land management and interpreting information

Have a go at mapping and find out more about the role of sheep in the shaping the landscape.

What do we produce and where do we produce it!

All food production depends on photosynthesis and plant growth and the area we have available to grow crops is limited.

In Scotland the majority of the land we have is graded as low quality and the soils are not very deep. This means that in many places the only plant we can grow successfully is grass. This is why there are so many herbivores (grass eaters) in Scotland. Sheep and cows both have four stomachs and can regurgitate and re-chew the grass they eat to get all the nutrition from it.

In Scotland, we produce a wide variety of different foods from barley seeds to leeks and from eggs to steak. The food we produce is high quality and we can produce high volumes (yields).

What we can grow in any particular place depends on the weather, the soil and the farm and its location.

When we look at a map of Scotland, we can see that most of our cereal crops like wheat and barley and our vegetables are grown on the east coast where the soil is freer draining, deeper and more fertile.

Lowland sheep breeds are favoured in north-west and southern Scotland where the grass grows well. In upland (hilly areas), the sheep breeds are hardy so they can graze low quality grass and change it into high quality protein. In lowland (flatter areas) the sheep breeds tend to be bigger and stockier because the grass is much better quality.

Beef farming happens in areas across Scotland where there is sufficient grass for the cows to eat. South west Scotland is good for both beef and dairy cattle.

🎲Where in Scotland are you and what type of farming happens nearby? Check out our farming in Scotland map.

Discover the history in the landscape

The landscape in Scotland has been shaped by food production. One example of this is droving.

Droving is the movement of cows, sheep and sometimes geese, on foot, long distances along specific routes called drover roads either to find new grazing areas or to go to market. These ‘drovers roads’ still form a network of paths across the landscape

Mills have also been a feature of the Scottish landscape for centuries. Most have stopped working, but in the past, these would have been important places for farmers growing grains. Grain was transported to these mills and ground into flour.

🎲 Many of the place names in Scotland are linked to the landscape and how it was used. Have you heard of any of these terms before? If so, can you identify any place names like this close to you?

Landscape changes over time

How food is produced has changed over time. Changes have occurred in many farming practices and these have affected biodiversity and the landscape in a variety of ways.

Mixed agriculture (keeping livestock and planting crops) in the UK has reduced and with many farms becoming more specialised. Advances through research and development, technical innovation in response to a growing population have seen changes including the following:

Farming has intensified – we get more output from the same area of land. For example, wheat yields in Scotland increased by 201% during the period 1967–1999.
Field sizes have increased to accommodate larger machinery
Crop planting times have changed. In the past, spring crops were common, now there is more autumn planting of crops.
New technology like robotic milkers, fitbits, soil testing and satellite mapping have made agriculture more efficient.
As well as growing crops for food we also grow crops for energy – called biofuels.

What is farm diversification?

Farm diversification is when a farm business introduces some changes from how it was traditional farmed, and adds new money-making activities.

For example, dairies producing milk often find they do not make enough money from producing just milk to drink. So they might start making ice cream or yoghurt from their milk. This needs significant planning and investment in things like machinery and the final product – e.g. the ice cream, makes more money than the milk by itself.

In some cases the diversification is with the land rather than the farm product. For example, some farmers diversify into growing biofuels like rye, build wind turbines on their land, plant trees for timber, open farm shops or set up glamping experiences.

Climate and weather

The landscape you see is also shaped by climate and weather.

‘Weather’ means the conditions you see when you look out the window each day - for example it could be sunny, windy or snowing.

‘Climate’ looks at the patterns in weather over 30 years or more.

🎲 Check out #ShowYourStripes and look at climate changes in different countries.

Food production in Scotland relies on the natural environment to provide:

the right weather, so there is sufficient water and sunshine
healthy soils to support crop growth.

However, looking at climate data we can see that the climate across the whole world including Scotland is changing. As the climate changes, what we can grow on the land and harvest from the sea also changes.

An example of this is making food to feed livestock. To make hay (dried cut grass) several days of sunny dry weather is needed. Silage (cut wilted grass) suits the change of climate

What will climate change look like near me?

How high might temperatures climb and how much rain might fall in your area and how? The BBC and the Met Office have looked at the UK's changing climate in detail to find out.

What will climate change look like in your area? - BBC NewsThe BBC and the Met Office have looked at the country's changing climate in detail.

Landscape conflicts

We need to have the right land use in the right place so that we can produce enough food, energy and timber.

Land use conflicts occur when different people have different ideas about how land is used and accessed. Sometimes different land uses like grazing sheep and wind turbines work together. In other cases, you can only have one of the other.

For example, if a farmer grows a biofuel crop like rye, that land can’t also be used for producing food like potatoes - or if a large area is planted with trees for timber, the area can’t then be used to grow crops.

The outcome of these conflicts shape landscapes; for example, timber crops are often planted on steep slopes where grazing for animals is poor quality.

Where we found our information

Scotland's' Places https://scotlandsplaces.gov.uk/places

Scotland's' Land use Strategy https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-third-land-use-strategy-2021-2026-getting-best-land/

UK regional climates https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/regional-climates/index

The Scots origins of place names in Britain https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-scots-origins-of-place-names-in-britain/

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