Products
Food
70% of the UK is used for farming and Britain has some of the most productive and varied farmland in the world, with food produced to the highest standards. Britain’s meat is of such a high quality that breeding livestock and genetics from our native breeds are sought after by farmers around the world.
Currently the UK is 74% self sufficient in all indigenous type food and 60% self sufficient in all food. However the proportion we import is rising and in the past 40 years we have lost nearly half of our family run farms.
See the NFU’s Why Farming Matters booklet to find out more about Britain’s farmers and 10 reasons to buy British!
Fibre and Timber
Britain's woodlands have expanded by an area more than three times the size of greater London in the last 20 years. Forestry Commission woodland alone produces more than 5 million tonnes of timber every year. That is almost 44% of UK wood production or 300 forty-tonne truckloads of timber every day.
The UK is also the world’s 7th largest producer of wool, with one third of each year’s wool production exported. However, current prices mean that the cost of shearing more than outweighs the value of the wool and it often goes to waste.
Energy
We are increasingly looking for renewable ways to produce our energy and many of these resources we need; wind, water, sunshine, agricultural waste, and the space for developments are found in the countryside. Rural areas are set to contribute considerably to renewable energy targets and the fight against climate change.
