Agriculture in Great Britain

For the period of latest decades Great Britain’s agriculture saw a significant increase in scientific and technical level and profitability of agro-industrial complex. A full self-sufficiency is reached by such products as milk, a high self-sufficiency have eggs, poultry, wheat, oats, barley and potato; imported are fruits, butter, sugar and cheese.

The British agriculture is nowadays one of the most efficient and mechanized in the world. The share of employment in the field amounts 2% of the total employment in the country. The total area of farmlands is 58.3 mln ha (76% of the total area of the country). Animal husbandry prevails in the structure of agricultural production. Developed are dairy and beef cattle breeding, pig husbandry, beef sheep and poultry husbandry for meat.

Great Britain is one of the largest suppliers of sheep wool. Traditionally, animal husbandry is concentrated in river basin.

The main farming types in the UK

Nearly 60% of tillage in crop husbandry is occupied by permanent grasses, more than 28% – bу cereal crop (including wheat – 15%, barley – 11%), 12 – by industrial crops (rape-seed, sugar beet, flax) and feeding crops (including potato), and also by vegetable gardens and small-fruit crops. The main crop-producing areas are East England and the Southeast.

There are many fruit gardens in Great Britain. Agriculture uses governmental support and receives donations from the EU budget.

Production volumes exceed the volumes of consumption by such products as wheat, barley and pork; production volumes are lower than the volume of consumption by such products as potato, beef, mutton, wool, sugar and eggs. Therefore, Great Britain has to import many of the necessary products. The country imports 4/5 of butter, 2/3 of sugar, a half of wheat and bacon, ¼ of beef and veal consumed in the country.

The country occupies the sixth place among EU members in terms of agricultural production volume. Great dynamics of the British agriculture development in 2012 in terms of the main agricultural items cost at market prices had the following indices: wheat production increased by 21.9% (to 1.3 bln pounds sterling); barley production by 39.7% (to 538 mln P. St); production of vegetable oil – by 35.8% (to 421. 5 mln P. St). The profit of the British agriculture grew 10% and reached 2.5 bln P.St; production grew 8.4% and reached 15 bin P. St. in 2012 526 thousand workers were employed in agriculture.

Production growth in animal husbandry amounted to 2.8% (5.2 bln P.St) which was mainly due to price rise for finished products / milk production increased to 2,8 bln P.St.

Unfavorable weather conditions affect the British agriculture a lot, especially floods.

Вправа 3. Дайте відповіді на питання.

1. What is the level of Britain’s agriculture? 2. Where is a full self – sufficiency reached by? 3. What is the total area of farmlands? 4. What is the country the largest supplier of? 5. What grain crops do they grow? 6. What branch of agriculture receives donations?

Вправа 4. Прочитайте та перекладіть речення українською.

1. The physical environment and natural resources of England are more favourable to agricultural development than those of other parts of the UK. 2. A greater proportion of the land consists of lowlands with good soils where the climate is conductive to crop growing. 3. The majority of English farms are small; most holdings being less than 250 acres (100 hectares), nonetheless, they are highly mechanized. 4. Wheat, the chief grain crop, is grown in the drier, sunnier counties of eastern and southern England, where new, stronger varieties have become increasingly widespread and average yields have raised significantly. 5. Barley is grown mainly for livestock feed. 6. The fertile soil of Kent has always been conductive to fruit growing.

Вправа 5. Прочитайте інтернаціональні слова.

Proportion, acre, hectare, fruit, cultivation, period, decade, local resources, import, bacon.

Вправа 6. Перекладіть на англійську.

Тваринництво, збільшення, рослинництво, врожай, продукти харчування, технічний рівень, земля, англійські ферми, поширений, природні ресурси.

Вправа 7. Ознайомтесь з найуживанішими технічними скороченнями.

a.і	artificial intelligence	штучний інтелект
a.c.	alternating current	змінний струм
a.f.	audio frequency	частота звуку
a.m.p	ampere	ампер
at.wt	atomic weight	атомна вага
b.p	boiling point	точка кипіння
c	degree Centigrade	градуси Цельсія
Cal.	calorie	калорія
CFCS	chlorofluorocarbons	хлор-фторвуглероди
cu	cubic	кубічний
cm	centimeter	сантиметр
cn in	cubic inch	кубічний дюйм
F	frequency	частота
d.c	direct current	постійний струм
Cpu	central processing unit	центральний процесор
fig	figure	малюнок
E.M.F. (emf)	electromotive force	електрорушійна сила
f.p.m	feet per minute	футів за хвилину
g.p.m	gallons per minute	галонів за хвилину
g	gram	грам
h	henry	генрі
hp	horsepower	кінська сила
hr	hour	година
in	inch	дюйм
j	joule	джоуль
kg	kilogram	кілограм
km	kilometer	кілометр
kv	kilovolt	кіловольт
kw	kilowatt	кіловат
l	liter	літер
m	meter	метер
mc	megacycles	мегагерци
M/ mu	micron	мікрон
mg	milligram	міліграм
min	minute	хвилина
oz	ounce	унція
lb.	pound	фунт
sq. km	square kilometer	квадратний кілометр
wt	weight	вага

Вправа 8. Виконайте вправу на скорочення. Перекладіть.

1.The loss of one millimeter of the fertile layer of soil results in the loss of 76 kg of nitrogen, 24 kg of phosphorus and 800 kg of potassium per hectare. 2.The field speed of this tractor is 17 km/ph. 3.The basic technical data of the T- 150 crawler type tractor are as follows: engine power – 150 hp, at 200 rpm;fuel consumption per brake horse power – 185 gph; speeds - 8 forward and 4 reverse; range of speeds – 2.68 to 15.89 km/h; track – 1435 mm; ground clearance – 300 mm; average soil compacting pressure – 0.44 kg/cm2; mass (weight) – 7400 kg.

Граматичний матеріал: Узгодження часів (The Sequence of Tenses)

Чужа мова може бути передана: 1) у формі прямої мови; 2) у формі непрямої мови.

У англійській мові часова форма дієслова у з’ясувальному підрядному реченні залежить від часової форми дієслова у головному реченні. 1) Якщо дієслово у головному реченні має форму теперішнього (майбутнього) часу, то і дієслово у підрядному реченні вживається у тому ж часі, яке необхідне за змістом: (She says that she is a student). 2) Якщо дієслово у головному реченні вживається в одному з минулому часів, то і дієслово підрядного речення вживається у минулому часі: (He said that he was a student).

При заміні прямої мови непрямою, де дієслово у головному реченні вживається у минулому, відбувається здвиг часів за схемою:

Present Indefinite – Past Indefinite

Present Continuous – Past Continuous

Present Perfect – Past Perfect

Past Indefinite – Past Perfect