Geography Quiz - UK Farming 02 (Questions)

Have a go at our second KS3 Geography quiz all about UK farming. Agriculture is the production, processing, marketing and use of foods, fibres and by-products from plant crops and animals. In the UK, agriculture accounts for about five percent of the economy. The main crops that are grown are wheat and barley whilst the main animals that are farmed are cattle, pigs and poultry. There are two kinds of cattle farming - dairy and beef. Dairy cattle provide us with milk, which is also turned into cheese.

Farmers sometimes plant winter crops to reduce erosion and prevent leaching of nutrients. They plant the winter crops in autumn, the crops grow a little before it becomes too cold, then when the weather warms up and they start to grow again, they can be harvested or simply ploughed back into the soil to increase its fertility.

Alternatively, crops can be used as animal feed. But if animals are fed food that is not appropriate for their species, it can lead to problems. In the 1990s there was an outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE for short) when cattle were fed the wrong food. As a result of the mistake on one farm, over 4 million cattle had to be killed to prevent the spread of the disease.