The agricultural crops industry produces and manages primary food groups including vegetables, cereals and root crops.
It is also involved in non-food groups and industrial crops such as energy crops (biofuels), crops for paper/materials (eg flax, hemp), specialist oils (eg lavender) and pharmaceuticals.
It includes the environmental management of land for sustainable development.
The main product on a farm varies according to its soil type and local weather conditions. Farms vary from remote hill farms through to vast mechanised arable farms. Some farms cross over into the agricultural livestock industry by mixing crops with livestock.
Farmers in the industry are responsible for managing the land in an environmentally friendly way. They protect areas of special scientific interest, restore hedgerows and experiment with organic methods of growing crops.
There are approximately 23,000 agricultural crop businesses in the UK, employing approximately 129,400 people. 74% of the land surface in the UK is under agricultural production.
