Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
appease anglers, is to allow up to 3,000 birds to be shot each year, ignoring the fact that its own research
shows that cormorants have a negligible effect on fish stocks.
FIG
38
. Whiteford Lighthouse, a major cormorant roost. (Harold Grenfell)
MARKET FORCES
The arrival of mechanised transport in 1922 changed the approach to farming in Gower virtually
overnight, and from then on part of the summer production, mainly potatoes, swedes and green crops,
was increasingly grown for direct sale off the farm. Not long after, about 1930, it was realised that as a
comparatively frost-free area the peninsula was in a favourable position and this coincided with the intro-
duction of new improved cropping varieties of early potatoes. Potatoes are still a core element on many
farms,buttheareaofgreencropvegetableshasincreasedconsiderably.Thismaintainedtheareaofarable
land at a time when many arable areas were going over to grass. Milk production became a major feature
once again in the late 1930s, when most of the farms had a milking herd of cows. They also kept pigs,
sheep and store cattle, and grew hay, oats and mangles
Beta vulgaris
var.
esculenta
for their animals as
well as wheat, barley and potatoes.
Today Gower is still traditionally farmed with small mixed arable, livestock and dairying enterprises,
many of which also exercise ancient commons grazing rights, and this has significant benefits for the
wildlife of the area. In contrast to the rest of Wales a large area of arable land remains and most farmers
are still growing small amounts ofcereal fortheir ownuse. Beef production, forsolong a mainstay ofthe
relatively smallfamilyfarms,isnowindecline,butincontrastsheepnumbershaveneverbeensohigh.It
iscurrentlyaperiodofimmensechangeinagriculture.Thesubsidies,whichhavebeenpresentforthelast
