Will we be saying...
"In the early years of the 21st Century the crisis in agriculture deepened.
Farm profitability slumped and few farmers were able to remain in business.
Many retired early and by 2010 there were few genuine farmers left.
Burdensome red tape and a general climate of criticism
about farmers and their practices ensured that there were few new entrants
to the industry. Food produce was imported from abroad where the reality
of poor practice could be ignored. Sons and daughters refused to have
anything to do with the family farm and gradually agricultural land
was left idle or replaced by amenity land use.
Typically, after some years of amenity use the land fell into disrepair
and developers quickly took the initiative to "tidy up" the countryside
with modern purpose built housing. By 2015 this was widely accepted
good practice.
Nowadays we can see that the real countryside has disappeared. What
is un-farmed exists only as scrub or as the next plot for development
- reach for your VEC (virtual experience centre) for a trip back to
a green and pleasant land."
Population:
60 million.
Crops:
Imported
Livestock:
Sheep, pigs and cattle are confined to zoos and rare breed centres
Farming systems:
The study of history
Woodland and hedges:
Revered and subject to endless study but without a working place in
the environment are now quietly decaying
Social economy:
Devoid of a rural economy
Climate:
"The hottest ever" but still 2° cooler than the bronze age to name
but one brief and recent period of time
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