101-566: The Scottish Crofting Federation (SCF), formerly called the Scottish Crofting Foundation (also formerly called the Scottish Crofters Union ), is an organization of crofting communities in the highlands and islands of Scotland . The SCF's mission is to safeguard and promote the rights, livelihoods , and culture of crofters and their communities. Its magazine is called The Crofter . The SCF
202-509: A Farm " describes a farmer named MacDonald and the various animals he keeps, celebrating the noises they each make. Many urban children experience animal husbandry for the first time at a petting farm ; in Britain, some five million people a year visit a farm of some kind. This presents some risk of infection , especially if children handle animals and then fail to wash their hands ; a strain of E. coli infected 93 people who had visited
303-481: A Regulations template to assist in the creation of rules. The template draft has been approved by the Crofting Commission. As of 12 June 2023 applications can be made online to the Crofting Commission in respect of assignations, decroftings, divisions and sublets. A person taking an interest from the landlord takes subject to the rights of the crofter. In a case where almost a century had elapsed since
404-446: A fertiliser, returning minerals and organic matter to the soil in a semi-closed organic system. Although all mammals produce milk to nourish their young, the cow is predominantly used throughout the world to produce milk and milk products for human consumption. Other animals used to a lesser extent for this purpose include sheep, goats, camels, buffaloes, yaks, reindeer, horses and donkeys. All these animals have been domesticated over
505-493: A plough to increase production of crops, and drawing a sledge, and later a cart, to bring the produce home from the field. Draught animals were first used about 4,000 BC in the Middle East, increasing agricultural production immeasurably. In southern Asia, the elephant was domesticated by 6,000 BC. Fossilised chicken bones dated to 5040 BC have been found in northeastern China, far from where their wild ancestors lived in
606-773: A proposal from the Scottish government to create marine protected areas . The SCF is currently involved in activities to encourage the UK government to recognize crofters as indigenous people of Scotland. Crofting Agriculture in the United Kingdom Agriculture in Scotland This article about an organisation in Scotland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Crofting Crofting ( Scottish Gaelic : croitearachd )
707-536: A resource designed for lawyers that gives detailed information as to the families and the farms featured in the narrative. Since 1912 crofting cases in the Scottish Land Court have been reported, and are available. They are scattered in several series and locations. Where such cases are dealt with on appeal to the Court of Session, they can be traced online. Crofting landscapes show great beauty but also
808-562: A significant impact on the world environment. Both production and consumption of animal products have increased rapidly. Since 1950, meat production has tripled, whereas the production of dairy products doubled and that of eggs almost increased fourfold. Meanwhile, meat consumption has nearly doubled worldwide. Developing countries had a surge in meat consumption, particularly of monogastric livestock. Animal husbandry drives climate change, ocean acidification, and biodiversity loss, and kills 60 billion animals annually. It uses between 20 and 33% of
909-820: A small area and given supplementary heating. Litter on the floor absorbs the droppings and the area occupied is expanded as they grow. Feed and water is supplied automatically and the lighting is controlled. The birds may be harvested on several occasions or the whole shed may be cleared at one time. A similar rearing system is usually used for turkeys, which are less hardy than chickens, but they take longer to grow and are often moved on to separate fattening units to finish. Ducks are particularly popular in Asia and Australia and can be killed at seven weeks under commercial conditions. Aquaculture has been defined as "the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants and implies some form of intervention in
1010-756: A support network for young crofters, the Western Isles Young Crofters, was founded to develop contacts and skills. Historically, crofting has been linked to the Scottish Gaelic language. The Scottish Government supports the Gaelic language in the Gaelic Language Plan. The plan for 2022-2027 derives from the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. In relation to crofting, the Scottish Land Court must accommodate
1111-573: A two hundred year old thatched crofting longhouse with its agricultural buildings (barn and stables). The home is fully furnished and there are displayed farm and stable equipment. In 2018 a section of the Sutherland Estate was bought out by a crofting community initiative, Garbh Allt Community Initiative Estate. The area amounted to 1,214 hectares (3,000 acres) of land and included the crofting townships of Gartymore , Portgower , Marrel and West Helmsdale . The £250,000 purchase money
SECTION 10
#17327937756381212-546: A typical broiler chicken at eight weeks old was 4.8 times as heavy as a bird of similar age in 1957, while in the thirty years to 2007, the average milk yield of a dairy cow in the United States nearly doubled. Good husbandry, proper feeding, and hygiene are the main contributors to animal health on the farm, bringing economic benefits through maximised production. When, despite these precautions, animals still become sick, they are treated with veterinary medicines , by
1313-550: A week. At the other extreme, in the more developed parts of the world, animals are often intensively managed ; dairy cows may be kept in zero-grazing conditions with all their forage brought to them; beef cattle may be kept in high density feedlots ; pigs may be housed in climate-controlled buildings and never go outdoors; poultry may be reared in barns and kept in cages as laying birds under lighting-controlled conditions. In between these two extremes are semi-intensive, often family-run farms where livestock graze outside for much of
1414-492: Is a charity dedicated to safeguarding crofting and its cultural heritage. Established and run by crofters, SCF engages with agencies and government at a local, national, and international level to influence policy on rural issues including sustaining rural populations, food production, and environmental protection. It also provides a network of support to established, new, and aspiring crofters through training, mentoring, and sharing of experience. The Scottish crofting produce mark
1515-526: Is a deciduous tree. In China, Korea and Japan however, two generations are normal, and in the tropics, multiple generations are expected. Most production of silk occurs in the Far East, with a synthetic diet being used to rear the silkworms in Japan. Insects form part of the human diet in many cultures. In Thailand, crickets are farmed for this purpose in the north of the country, and palm weevil larvae in
1616-531: Is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production peculiar to the Scottish Highlands , the islands of Scotland , and formerly on the Isle of Man . Within the 19th-century townships , individual crofts were established on the better land, and a large area of poorer-quality hill ground was shared by all the crofters of the township for grazing of their livestock. In the 21st century, crofting
1717-490: Is appropriate. A crofting tenancy is one from year to year but it carries security of tenure under the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 and in practice may therefore continue indefinitely whilst the tenant fulfils the terms of the tenancy. This reflects the basic protection granted in 1886. Other retained key features are now also contained in the consolidation of the 1993 Act. These are a right to compensation for improvements to
1818-762: Is at Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness IV3 8NW. The staff is of approximately 70 civil servants with their Chief Executive appointed by the Scottish Ministers after discussion with the Commission Convenor. Crofters may claim Basic Payment Scheme subsidy, which is administered by the Scottish Government, Rural Payments and Services. All crofters may join the Scottish Crofting Federation . In 2024
1919-606: Is bound by the Crofting Commission Model Code of Conduct. There is a scheme of delegation governing the handling of crofting matters. There are as at 2024 nine Commissioners. Six are elected by crofters, and the remaining three are appointed by the Scottish Government. The names of the Commissioners, alongside detailed statements by way of declarations of interests are available online. The Commission has its own support staff, and its main office
2020-420: Is compulsory in some circumstances. The Keeper offers online guidance in the form of a list as to events that trigger a mandatory registration. Registered boundaries of crofts are shown on a map and they are definitive. First registration may give rise to boundary disputes. The Scottish Land Court will determine the boundary and in the case of insufficient evidence has the power to fix the boundary where it thinks
2121-487: Is destroyed by clearing forests and converting land to grow feed crops and for grazing, while predators and herbivores are frequently targeted because of a perceived threat to livestock profits; for example, animal husbandry causes up to 91% of the deforestation in the Amazon region . In addition, livestock produce greenhouse gases . Cows produce some 570 million cubic metres of methane per day, that accounts for 35 to 40% of
SECTION 20
#17327937756382222-601: Is found predominantly in the rural Western and Northern Isles and in the coastal fringes of the western and northern Scottish mainland. Crofting communities were a product of the Highland Clearances (though individual crofts had existed before the clearances). Previously, Highland agriculture was based on farms or bailtean , which had common grazing and arable open fields operated on the run rig system. An individual baile might have between five and ten families as tenants. As landowners sought to increase
2323-427: Is mainly derived from cereals and cereal by-products, fats and oils and sugar-rich foods, while protein may come from fish or meat meal, milk products, legumes and other plant foods, often the by-products of vegetable oil extraction. Pigs and poultry are non-ruminants and unable to digest the cellulose in grass and other forages, so they are fed entirely on cereals and other high-energy foodstuffs. The ingredients for
2424-455: Is managed by farmers with a view to encouraging traits seen as desirable. These include hardiness, fertility, docility, mothering abilities, fast growth rates, low feed consumption per unit of growth, better body proportions, higher yields, and better fibre qualities. Undesirable traits such as health defects and aggressiveness are selected against. Selective breeding has been responsible for large increases in productivity. For example, in 2007,
2525-463: Is no single universally agreed definition of which species are livestock. Widely agreed types of livestock include cattle for beef and dairy, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry. Various other species are sometimes considered livestock, such as horses, while poultry birds are sometimes excluded. In some parts of the world, livestock includes species such as buffalo, and the South American camelids,
2626-472: Is now frowned on in many countries because of the risk that it may lead to antimicrobial resistance in livestock and in humans. Governments are concerned with zoonoses , diseases that humans may acquire from animals. Wild animal populations may harbour diseases that can affect domestic animals which may acquire them as a result of insufficient biosecurity . An outbreak of Nipah virus in Malaysia in 1999
2727-461: Is only part of the purpose of keeping an animal which may also be used as a beast of burden or to draw a plough, or for the production of fibre, meat and leather, with the dung being used for fuel or for the improvement of soil fertility . Sheep and goats may be favoured for dairy production in climates and conditions that do not suit dairy cows. Meat , mainly from farmed animals, is a major source of dietary protein and essential nutrients around
2828-582: Is practical and down to earth, and anti-intellectual. Farm animals are widespread in books and songs for children; the reality of animal husbandry is often distorted, softened, or idealized, giving children an almost entirely fictitious account of farm life. The books often depict happy animals free to roam in attractive countryside, a picture completely at odds with the realities of the impersonal, mechanized activities involved in modern intensive farming . Pigs, for example, appear in several of Beatrix Potter 's "little books", as Piglet in A.A. Milne 's Winnie
2929-538: Is seasonal, for example in the temperate summer or tropical rainy season , so some areas of the crop are set aside to be cut and preserved, either as hay (dried grass), or as silage (fermented grass). Other forage crops are also grown and many of these, as well as crop residues, can be ensiled to fill the gap in the nutritional needs of livestock in the lean season. Extensively reared animals may subsist entirely on forage, but more intensively kept livestock will require energy and protein-rich foods in addition. Energy
3030-471: Is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat , fibre , milk , or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding , and the raising of livestock . Husbandry has a long history, starting with the Neolithic Revolution when animals were first domesticated , from around 13,000 BC onwards, predating farming of
3131-532: Is the highly developed network of legislation that has evolved since 1886. Crofting has been established and regulated in accordance with a series of statutes that have varied over time. The following six statutes have been repealed: the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 ; the Small Landholders (Scotland) Act 1911 ; the Small Landholders and Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act 1931 ;
Scottish Crofting Federation - Misplaced Pages Continue
3232-559: The Crofters (Scotland) Act 1955 ; the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1961 ; and the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 1976 . In 1993 there was a consolidation of the legislation into the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 . As of 2023, the following four statutes together comprise the code of legislation applicable to crofting: the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993; the Crofting Reform etc. Act 2007 ; the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 ;
3333-663: The Crofting (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2013 . The Scottish government, due to the acknowledged complexity of the statutory codes, has a public consultation open until 2 September 2024 as to possible ways of simplifying the law. The Crofting Register is a public record available for consultation for free. It is kept by the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland . As at 12 September 2023 there were 9288 registered crofts and 335 registered common grazings. Registration can be voluntary but
3434-576: The Middle East . Animal rights activists have objected to long-distance transport of animals; one result was the banning of live exports from New Zealand in 2003. Since the 18th century, the farmer John Bull has represented English national identity , first in John Arbuthnot 's political satires, and soon afterwards in cartoons by James Gillray and others including John Tenniel . He likes food, beer, dogs, horses, and country sports ; he
3535-497: The cellulose in forage and require other high-protein foods. The verb to husband , meaning "to manage carefully", derives from an older meaning of husband , which in the 14th century referred to the ownership and care of a household or farm, but today means the "control or judicious use of resources", and in agriculture, the cultivation of plants or animals. Farmers and ranchers who raise livestock are considered to practice animal husbandry . The domestication of livestock
3636-929: The first crops . During the period of ancient societies like ancient Egypt , cattle , sheep , goats , and pigs were being raised on farms. Major changes took place in the Columbian exchange , when Old World livestock were brought to the New World, and then in the British Agricultural Revolution of the 18th century, when livestock breeds like the Dishley Longhorn cattle and Lincoln Longwool sheep were rapidly improved by agriculturalists, such as Robert Bakewell , to yield more meat, milk, and wool . A wide range of other species, such as horse , water buffalo , llama , rabbit , and guinea pig , are used as livestock in some parts of
3737-470: The nomads in the Middle East, while cattle and pigs were associated with more settled communities. The first wild animal to be domesticated was the dog . Half-wild dogs, perhaps starting with young individuals, may have been tolerated as scavengers and killers of vermin, and being naturally pack hunters , were predisposed to become part of the human pack and join in the hunt. Prey animals, sheep, goats, pigs and cattle, were progressively domesticated early in
3838-469: The Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993 as amended. There is a duty to be ordinarily resident within 32 km of the croft. If the croft is the sole dwelling and the crofter's family are residents while the croft is away this would probably be accepted as ordinarily resident. Other circumstances involving other places of residence would require to be assessed individually. In addition to the duty of residential tenants and owner-occupiers crofters are required to ensure
3939-550: The Mediterranean. In ancient Egypt , cattle were the most important livestock, and sheep, goats, and pigs were also kept; poultry including ducks, geese, and pigeons were captured in nets and bred on farms, where they were force-fed with dough to fatten them. The Nile provided a plentiful source of fish. Honey bees were domesticated from at least the Old Kingdom, providing both honey and wax. In ancient Rome , all
4040-438: The New World for the first time along with wheat, barley, rice and turnips. Selective breeding for desired traits was established as a scientific practice by Robert Bakewell during the British Agricultural Revolution in the 18th century. One of his most important breeding programs was with sheep. Using native stock, he was able to quickly select for large, yet fine-boned sheep, with long, lustrous wool. The Lincoln Longwool
4141-587: The Pooh stories, and somewhat more darkly (with a hint of animals going to slaughter) as Babe in Dick King-Smith 's The Sheep-Pig , and as Wilbur in E. B. White 's Charlotte's Web . Pigs tend to be "bearers of cheerfulness, good humour and innocence". Many of these books are completely anthropomorphic , dressing farm animals in clothes and having them walk on two legs, live in houses, and perform human activities. The children's song " Old MacDonald Had
Scottish Crofting Federation - Misplaced Pages Continue
4242-481: The Scottish Gaelic language including by having a Gaelic-speaking member of the Court. Lord Minginish (Chairman of the Scottish Land Court 2014–2022) continues to hold office as a Gaelic-speaking member of the Court. There are provisions to ensure that at all times at least one member of the Crofting Commission (whether elected or appointed) is a Gaelic language speaker. Reports of crofting litigation are
4343-734: The Scottish Ministers to report to the Scottish Parliament on the economic condition of crofting and on steps taken by the Government and by the Crofting Commission to support crofting. The 2019-2022 Report is the most recent. The Crofting Commission in the Scottish Government Audit Scotland Crofting Commission Report 2020/2021 were considered as “falling below the standards expected of a public body in Scotland.” Remedial steps were consequently taken. The Commission
4444-538: The Westmoreland bull to create the Dishley Longhorn . The semi-natural, unfertilised pastures formed by traditional agricultural methods in Europe were managed by grazing and mowing. As the ecological impact of this land management strategy is similar to the impact of such natural disturbances as grazing and wildfire , this agricultural system shares many beneficial characteristics with a natural habitat, including
4545-684: The agricultural land area in the Crofting Counties. Crofters held around 20% of all beef cattle (120,000 head) and 45% of breeding ewes (1.5 million sheep). Crofting generally is regulated by the Crofting Commission , a public body of the Scottish Government . The activities of the Crofting Commission are regularly publicly reported. Section 51 of the Crofting Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 requires
4646-639: The alpaca and llama. Some authorities use much broader definitions to include fish in aquaculture , micro-livestock such as rabbits and rodents like guinea pigs , as well as insects from honey bees to crickets raised for human consumption . Animals are raised for a wide variety of products, principally meat , wool , milk , and eggs , but also including tallow , isinglass and rennet . Animals are also kept for more specialised purposes, such as to produce vaccines and antiserum (containing antibodies ) for medical use. Where fodder or other crops are grown alongside animals, manure can serve as
4747-452: The animal for food was a secondary consideration, and wherever possible its products such as wool, eggs, milk and blood (by the Maasai ) were harvested while the animal was still alive. In the traditional system of transhumance , people and livestock moved seasonally between fixed summer and winter pastures; in montane regions the summer pasture was up in the mountains, the winter pasture in
4848-404: The animals' rations can be grown on the farm or can be bought, in the form of pelleted or cubed, compound foodstuffs specially formulated for the different classes of livestock, their growth stages and their specific nutritional requirements. Vitamins and minerals are added to balance the diet. Farmed fish are usually fed pelleted food. The breeding of farm animals seldom occurs spontaneously but
4949-437: The birds are unable to exhibit their normal behaviours. In the developed world, the majority of the poultry reared for meat is raised indoors in big sheds, with automated equipment under environmentally controlled conditions. Chickens raised in this way are known as broilers, and genetic improvements have meant that they can be grown to slaughter weight within six or seven weeks of hatching. Newly hatched chicks are restricted to
5050-502: The birds can roam as they will but are housed at night for their own protection, through semi-intensive systems where they are housed in barns and have perches, litter and some freedom of movement, to intensive systems where they are kept in cages. The battery cages are arranged in long rows in multiple tiers, with external feeders, drinkers, and egg collection facilities. This is the most labour saving and economical method of egg production but has been criticised on animal welfare grounds as
5151-452: The book, had in 1086 "2 fisheries worth [paying tax of] 7s and 6d [each year] and 20 acres of meadow [for livestock]. Woodland for [feeding] 70 pigs." The improvements of animal husbandry in the medieval period in Europe went hand in hand with other developments. Improvements to the plough allowed the soil to be tilled to a greater depth. Horses took over from oxen as the main providers of traction, new ideas on crop rotation were developed and
SECTION 50
#17327937756385252-476: The care of small numbers of cattle. The crofts created by clearance were not intended to support all the needs of those who lived there and consequently were restricted in size to a few acres of arable land with surrounding shared grazing. Landlords intended their crofting tenants to work in various industries, such as fishing or kelp. A contemporary estimate was that a crofter needed to carry out 200 days of work away from his croft in order to avoid destitution. In
5353-486: The centuries, being bred for such desirable characteristics as fecundity, productivity, docility and the ability to thrive under the prevailing conditions. Whereas in the past cattle had multiple functions, modern dairy cow breeding has resulted in specialised Holstein Friesian-type animals that produce large quantities of milk economically. Artificial insemination is widely available to allow farmers to select for
5454-626: The control could be transferred within families and passed to future generations. Crofters were given the right to purchase their individual crofts in 1976. In 2003, as part of the Land Reform Act , crofting community bodies were provided with the right to purchase eligible croft land associated with the local crofting community. In 1974 the Laidhay Croft Museum near Dunbeath in Caithness was opened to preserve and enhance
5555-524: The countryside to assist in pollination. Sericulture , the rearing of silkworms, was first adopted by the Chinese during the Shang dynasty . The only species farmed commercially is the domesticated silkmoth . When it spins its cocoon , each larva produces an exceedingly long, slender thread of silk. The larvae feed on mulberry leaves and in Europe, only one generation is normally raised each year as this
5656-419: The creation of an interest by the landlord but where there had been no formal resumption by permission obtained from the commission or the Scottish Land Court, the tenant was able to reclaim as part of the croft land that had been fenced off and supposedly taken away by such a transaction. Tenants and owner-occupier crofters are required to comply with a range of duties specified in sections 5AA to 5C and 19C of
5757-509: The croft is cultivated, maintained and not neglected or misused. Crofting is a traditional social system in Scotland defined by small-scale food production. Crofting is characterised by its common working communities, or "townships". Individual crofts are typically established on 2–5 hectares (5– 12 + 1 ⁄ 2 acres) of in-bye for better quality forage , arable and vegetable production. Each township manages poorer-quality hill ground as common grazing for cattle and sheep . From
5858-477: The early days, certain improvements were done to render land more amenable to cultivation. In particular, where the ground was heavy peat, the creation of ditches (and their regular maintenance) was essential. A feature probably special to crofting practice was the establishing of Lazy Beds (Gaelic: fiannegan) . These were areas where turfs had been cut so two layers of turf lay on top of one another. Seaweed or kelp could be spread in between these layers to fertilise
5959-687: The farmer and the veterinarian . In the European Union, when farmers treat their own animals, they are required to follow the guidelines for treatment and to record the treatments given. Animals are susceptible to a number of diseases and conditions that may affect their health. Some, like classical swine fever and scrapie are specific to one type of stock, while others, like foot-and-mouth disease affect all cloven-hoofed animals. Animals living under intensive conditions are prone to internal and external parasites ; increasing numbers of sea lice are affecting farmed salmon in Scotland. Reducing
6060-444: The growing of crops for winter fodder gained ground. Peas, beans and vetches became common; they increased soil fertility through nitrogen fixation, allowing more livestock to be kept. Exploration and colonisation of North and South America resulted in the introduction into Europe of such crops as maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc, while the principal Old World livestock – cattle, horses, sheep and goats – were introduced into
6161-537: The history of agriculture. Pigs were domesticated in the Near East between 8,500 and 8000 BC, sheep and goats in or near the Fertile Crescent about 8,500 BC, and cattle from wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan around 8,500 BC. A cow was a great advantage to a villager as she produced more milk than her calf needed, and her strength could be put to use as a working animal , pulling
SECTION 60
#17327937756386262-516: The income from their lands, the first step was the removal of the tacksmen . They were steadily eliminated over the last quarter of the 18th century. A tacksman (a member of the daoine uaisle , sometimes described as 'gentry' in English) was the holder of a lease or tack from the landowner. Where a lease was for a baile , the tacksman usually sublet to the farming tenants and may have provided some management oversight. Tacksmen were integral to
6363-480: The jungles of tropical Asia, but archaeologists believe that the original purpose of domestication was for the sport of cockfighting . Meanwhile, in South America, the llama and the alpaca had been domesticated, probably before 3,000 BC, as beasts of burden and for their wool. Neither was strong enough to pull a plough which limited the development of agriculture in the New World. Horses occur naturally on
6464-408: The land, the right to pay a fair rent, and the right of bequest of the tenancy to a spouse or his family's next generation. A valid crofting agreement can only be made with the prior consent of the Crofting Commission. Croft tenants are subject to the statutory conditions of tenure contained in section 5 and Schedule 2 of the Crofters (Scotland) Act 1993. Additionally, since 2010 they are subject to
6565-538: The livestock known in ancient Egypt were available. In addition, rabbits were domesticated for food by the first century BC. To help flush them out from their burrows, the polecat was domesticated as the ferret , its use described by Pliny the Elder . In northern Europe, agriculture including animal husbandry went into decline when the Roman empire collapsed. Some aspects such as the herding of animals continued throughout
6666-502: The local community. Small-scale eco-friendly systems, as practiced by crofters, is an alternative to industrial agriculture . Much of the UK's High Nature Value farming is found in the crofting areas. Extensive land management methods have created and preserved the habitats of rare species now threatened elsewhere in the UK, and continuing crofting land use is recognized as having an important role in maintaining and increasing biodiversity. The SCF opposes Highly Protected Marine Areas ,
6767-430: The lowest LFA payments. Most crofters cannot survive economically by crofting agriculture alone, and they pursue a number of other activities to earn their livelihood. The underlying potential of the crofting areas to produce a diverse local landscape and a more satisfactory diet for local people can be explored by analysis taking the agricultural values and practices of the pre-capitalist clan system in order to critique
6868-510: The most widely held position in the western world, a form of utilitarianism : that it is morally acceptable for humans to use non-human animals, provided that no unnecessary suffering is caused, and that the benefits to humans outweigh the costs to the livestock. An opposing view is that animals have rights , should not be regarded as property, are not necessary to use, and should never be used by humans. Live export of animals has risen to meet increased global demand for livestock such as in
6969-501: The overall methane emissions of the planet. Further, livestock production is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide . Since the 18th century, people have become increasingly concerned about the welfare of farm animals . Possible measures of welfare include longevity , behavior , physiology , reproduction , freedom from disease , and freedom from immunosuppression . Standards and laws for animal welfare have been created worldwide, broadly in line with
7070-480: The parasite burdens of livestock results in increased productivity and profitability. Where the condition is serious, governments impose regulations on import and export, on the movement of stock, quarantine restrictions and the reporting of suspected cases. Vaccines are available against certain diseases, and antibiotics are widely used where appropriate. At one time, antibiotics were routinely added to certain compound foodstuffs to promote growth, but this practice
7171-406: The particular traits that suit their circumstances. Whereas in the past cows were kept in small herds on family farms , grazing pastures and being fed hay in winter, nowadays there is a trend towards larger herds, more intensive systems, the feeding of silage and "zero grazing", a system where grass is cut and brought to the cow, which is housed year-round. In many communities, milk production
7272-564: The period. By the 11th century, the economy had recovered and the countryside was again productive. The Domesday Book recorded every parcel of land and every animal in England: "there was not one single hide, nor a yard of land, nay, moreover ... not even an ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was there left, that was not set down in [the king's] writ." For example, the royal manor of Earley in Berkshire , one of thousands of villages recorded in
7373-461: The problem of poverty and insecurity of tenure in the Highlands was investigated. Consequent on this, the first Scottish crofting legislation of 1886 was enacted. The Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act 1886 ( 49 & 50 Vict. c. 29) provided for security of tenure, a key issue as most crofters remain tenants. The Act encouraged tenants to improve the land under their control, as it ensured that
7474-410: The promotion of biodiversity . This strategy is declining in Europe today due to the intensification of agriculture. The mechanized and chemical methods used are causing biodiversity to decline. Traditionally, animal husbandry was part of the subsistence farmer's way of life, producing not only the food needed by the family but also the fuel, fertiliser, clothing, transport and draught power. Killing
7575-1033: The rearing process to enhance production, such as regular stocking, feeding, protection from predators, etc. Farming also implies individual or corporate ownership of the stock being cultivated." In practice it can take place in the sea or in freshwater, and be extensive or intensive. Whole bays, lakes or ponds may be devoted to aquaculture, or the farmed animal may be retained in cages (fish), artificial reefs , racks or strings (shellfish). Fish and prawns can be cultivated in rice paddies , either arriving naturally or being introduced, and both crops can be harvested together. Fish hatcheries provide larval and juvenile fish, crustaceans and shellfish, for use in aquaculture systems. When large enough these are transferred to growing-on tanks and sold to fish farms to reach harvest size. Some species that are commonly raised in hatcheries include shrimps , prawns , salmon , tilapia , oysters and scallops . Similar facilities can be used to raise species with conservation needs to be released into
7676-521: The remote, harsh and unyielding nature of the terrain. Often historically combined with fishing or the exploitation of peat, potash, or seaweed, agriculture operates on an uneconomic scale. Consequently, other industries connected to wool such as weaving or knitting, or to distillery products such as whisky and gin have developed. In more recent times, wind-farming has created some additional financial support. Features of crofting townships include shared grazing areas. Pastoral farming Animal husbandry
7777-540: The second half of the 19th century, many crofters provided a substantial migrant workforce, especially for lowland farms. Crofting communities in the period 1846–56 were badly hit by the Highland Potato Famine . The small arable plots had meant that the potato was an essential crop, due to its high productivity. The arrival of potato blight (and the collapse of the kelp industry a few years before) made some crofting communities inviable. This gave rise to
7878-600: The second phase of the Highland Clearances, when many tenants left the Highlands, often emigrating. In 1852, in response to the poverty in the Highlands, Sir Charles Trevelyan founded the Highland and Island Emigration Society , designed to save poor families from starvation by emigration to Australia. In 1883, the Napier Commission was established. Though its recommendations were not accepted,
7979-509: The soil. This left lower areas around the beds that could then act as drainage conduits. Land use in the crofting counties is constrained by climate , soils , and topography . Since the late 20th century, the government has classified virtually all of the agricultural land in the Highlands and Islands as Severely Disadvantaged, under the terms of the Less Favoured Area (LFA) Directive, yet these areas reported in 2008-9 receiving
8080-421: The south. The crickets are kept in pens, boxes or drawers and fed on commercial pelleted poultry food, while the palm weevil larvae live on cabbage palm and sago palm trees, which limits their production to areas where these trees grow. Another delicacy of this region is the bamboo caterpillar , and the best rearing and harvesting techniques in semi-natural habitats are being studied. Animal husbandry has
8181-401: The statutory duties. These apply to all tenancies whether held under a written agreement or an oral agreement. The written terms are invalid in so far as they are inconsistent with the statutory provisions. Grazings regulations prevail over the terms of a tenancy agreement. These are regulations created by the crofters to manage their common grazings. The Scottish Government offers Guidance and
8282-779: The steppes of Central Asia and their domestication began around 3,000 BC in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea region. Although horses were originally seen as a source of meat, their use as pack animals and for riding followed. Around the same time, the wild ass was being tamed in Egypt. Camels were domesticated soon after this, with the Bactrian camel in Mongolia and the Arabian camel becoming beasts of burden. By 1000 BC, caravans of Arabian camels were linking India with Mesopotamia and
8383-582: The tenancy of more than one croft, and in-croft absenteeism means that tenancies are held but crofts are not farmed. About 33,000 family members lived in crofting households, or around 10% of the population of the Highlands and Islands. Crofting households represented around 30% of those in the rural areas of the Highlands, and up to 65% of households in Shetland, the Western Isles, and Skye. There were 770,000 hectares under crofting tenure, roughly 25% of
8484-438: The trade in black cattle out of the Highlands, providing an important role in the overall Highland economy. By preventing this section of society from sub-letting, the landlords obtained all of the rent paid by those who worked the land. Secondly, landowners replaced the older farming methods with pastoral systems, with leases being auctioned off to the highest bidder. In early cases, these new farms raised cattle. Much more common
8585-551: The uplands of the United Kingdom, sheep are turned out on the fells in spring and graze the abundant mountain grasses untended, being brought to lower altitudes late in the year, with supplementary feeding being provided in winter. In rural locations, pigs and poultry can obtain much of their nutrition from scavenging, and in African communities, hens may live for months without being fed, and still produce one or two eggs
8686-612: The valleys. Animals can be kept extensively or intensively. Extensive systems involve animals roaming at will, or under the supervision of a herdsman, often for their protection from predators . Ranching in the Western United States involves large herds of cattle grazing widely over public and private lands. Similar cattle stations are found in South America, Australia and other places with large areas of land and low rainfall. Ranching systems have been used for sheep , deer , ostrich , emu , llama and alpaca . In
8787-437: The view that the current Less Favoured Areas are intrinsically poorer. On that basis, "traditional" landscape and livestock-dominated practices are no more than the outcome of market dependency and should not be regarded as the inevitable measure of the potential of the land. Despite its challenges, crofting is important to the Highlands and Islands. In 2014–2015 there were 19,422 crofts, with 15,388 crofters. Some crofters have
8888-487: The whole range of available plant material. Cattle, sheep, goats, deer and antelopes are ruminants ; they digest food in two steps, chewing and swallowing in the normal way, and then regurgitating the semidigested cud to chew it again and thus extract the maximum possible food value. The dietary needs of these animals is mostly met by eating grass. Grasses grow from the base of the leaf-blade, enabling it to thrive even when heavily grazed or cut. In many climates grass growth
8989-523: The wild long before that. Fixed comb hives are used in many parts of the world and are made from any locally available material. In more advanced economies, where modern strains of domestic bee have been selected for docility and productiveness, various designs of hive are used which enable the combs to be removed for processing and extraction of honey. Quite apart from the honey and wax they produce, honey bees are important pollinators of crops and wild plants, and in many places hives are transported around
9090-536: The wild, or game fish for restocking waterways. Important aspects of husbandry at these early stages include selection of breeding stock, control of water quality and nutrition. In the wild, there is a massive amount of mortality at the nursery stage; farmers seek to minimise this while at the same time maximising growth rates. Bees have been kept in hives since at least the First Dynasty of Egypt , five thousand years ago, and man had been harvesting honey from
9191-530: The world's fresh water, Livestock, and the production of feed for them, occupy about a third of the Earth's ice-free land. Livestock production contributes to species extinction , desertification , and habitat destruction . and is the primary driver of the Holocene extinction . Some 70% of the agricultural land and 30% of Earth's land surface is involved directly or indirectly in animal husbandry. Habitat
9292-495: The world's meat is produced from animals grazing on open ranges or on enclosed pastures, the other half being produced intensively in various factory-farming systems; these are mostly cows, pigs or poultry, and often reared indoors, typically at high densities. Poultry, kept for their eggs and for their meat, include chickens, turkeys, geese and ducks. The great majority of laying birds used for egg production are chickens. Methods for keeping layers range from free-range systems, where
9393-764: The world, averaging about 8% of man's energy intake. The actual types eaten depend on local preferences, availability, cost and other factors, with cattle, sheep, pigs and goats being the main species involved. Cattle generally produce a single offspring annually which takes more than a year to mature; sheep and goats often have twins and these are ready for slaughter in less than a year; pigs are more prolific, producing more than one litter of up to about 11 piglets each year. Horses, donkeys, deer, buffalo, llamas, alpacas, guanacos and vicunas are farmed for meat in various regions. Some desirable traits of animals raised for meat include fecundity, hardiness, fast growth rate, ease of management and high food conversion efficiency. About half of
9494-1016: The world. Insect farming , as well as aquaculture of fish , molluscs , and crustaceans , is widespread. Modern animal husbandry relies on production systems adapted to the type of land available. Subsistence farming is being superseded by intensive animal farming in the more developed parts of the world, where, for example, beef cattle are kept in high-density feedlots , and thousands of chickens may be raised in broiler houses or batteries . On poorer soil, such as in uplands, animals are often kept more extensively and may be allowed to roam widely, foraging for themselves. Animal agriculture at modern scale drives climate change , ocean acidification , and biodiversity loss . Most livestock are herbivores , except for pigs and chickens which are omnivores . Ruminants like cattle and sheep are adapted to feed on grass; they can forage outdoors or may be fed entirely or in part on rations richer in energy and protein, such as pelleted cereals. Pigs and poultry cannot digest
9595-531: The year, silage or hay is made to cover the times of year when the grass stops growing, and fertiliser, feed, and other inputs are brought onto the farm from outside. Animals used as livestock are predominantly herbivorous , the main exceptions being the pig and the chicken which are omnivorous. The herbivores can be divided into "concentrate selectors" which selectively feed on seeds, fruits and highly nutritious young foliage, "grazers" which mainly feed on grass, and "intermediate feeders" which choose their diet from
9696-417: Was driven by the need to have food on hand when hunting was unproductive. The desirable characteristics of a domestic animal are that it should be useful to the domesticator, should be able to thrive in his or her company, should breed freely, and be easy to tend. Domestication was not a single event, but a process repeated at various periods in different places. Sheep and goats were the animals that accompanied
9797-512: Was improved by Bakewell and in turn the Lincoln was used to develop the subsequent breed, named the New (or Dishley) Leicester. It was hornless and had a square, meaty body with straight top lines. These sheep were exported widely and have contributed to numerous modern breeds. Under his influence, English farmers began to breed cattle for use primarily as beef. Long-horned heifers were crossed with
9898-834: Was introduced in 2008 to identify products produced by a croft or similar small agri-business that is located in the Highlands or the Islands of Scotland . Only those businesses that qualify and are members of the Scottish Crofting Federation may place the mark on their products. The federation states on its website that it plans to enforce product quality, cleanliness, and traceability, as well as ensure animals are healthy and reasonably treated. Crofting has sustained rural communities in many areas in Western Europe. Crofting provides certain benefits to
9999-498: Was made available in the form of two major contributions. These were: £273,000 from the Scottish government funded Scottish Land Fund; and £29,918 Beatrice Partnership Fund (a body connected to Beatrice windfarm in the Outer Moray Firth). The transfer of ownership was in favour of crofters, some of whom were descendants of people removed from the Sutherland Estate two centuries previously. A key feature of crofting tenure
10100-693: Was the introduction of extensive sheep farms. Both required the eviction of the tenants of each baile . In many clearances, the tenants of inland farms were moved to crofting communities in coastal areas, often on poorer quality land. This type of clearance was carried out mostly until the 1820s. Croft work was hard, back-breaking work which yielded a subsistence living. Aside from hay and oats, usually root vegetables, potatoes or cabbages were grown and peat would be cut by hand and left outside in various characteristic patterns of stacks to dry so as to serve later for fuel or sometimes for bedding for animals. Most crofters had sheep to shear and lamb. Some crofters had
10201-540: Was traced back to pigs becoming ill after contact with fruit-eating flying foxes , their faeces and urine. The pigs in turn passed the infection to humans. Avian flu H5N1 is present in wild bird populations and can be carried large distances by migrating birds. This virus is easily transmissible to domestic poultry, and to humans living in close proximity with them. Other infectious diseases affecting wild animals, farm animals and humans include rabies , leptospirosis , brucellosis , tuberculosis and trichinosis . There
#637362