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Wheat is the most widely grown arable crop in the UK covering around 2 million hectares and producing about 16 million tonnes each year. Wheat is a versatile crop and is found in thousands of food products.
Barley is grown on around 1.1 million hectares and produces an output of around 7 million tonnes. About 2 million tonnes are used in the production of malt, a key ingredient in beer and whisky. The balance is largely used in animal feeds.
The bright yellow flowers of oil seed rape cover 0.5 million hectares each year producing around 1.5 million tonnes of seed. Rape is processed to produce vegetable oil which is widely used in food products.
Peas are a legume that have long been an important agricultural crop providing a good source of protein when eaten as well as enriching the soil through their nitrogen fixing nodules.
Oats represent about 3% of the total UK cereals area and are mostly sown in the autumn months. About half of the oat crop is milled and used for human consumption, the balance being used for animal feed.
Potatoes were first introduced into the UK around 1600 AD and are a useful crop that provide high yeilds of carbohydrate from their tubers. They are widely used both in raw and processed form and are popular in many guises.
Pigs are a versatile farm animal that have been supplying us with meat products for over 6000 years. Pig meat is sold fresh or in processed form.
Each year some 2 million beef animals are produced. Beef is a relatively expensive meat and in recent years consumption has declined in favour of white meats. Beef is most popular as a fresh meat product.
There are around 20 million breeding sheep in the UK and a further 20 million lambs under a year old. Nearly all of the sheep meat that is consumed is lamb which is both succulent and tasty and has been prized for generations.
There are 2.3 million dairy cows in the UK, each producing around 5900 litres per annum. Half of the milk is used for liquid consumption while the balance is processed. Use in cheese making accounts for half of all processed use.
