Crops
Agriculture is the main High Weald land use, covering 65% of the area in 2007. About 60% of the farmed land is grassland and 20% is arable. Our 'Crops' on line spotters guide will help you work out how today's farmers are ensuring that the High Weald remains a productive landscape.
Improved grassland
Improved grassland has had fertilizer added to it or has been ploughed up and reseeded. There are only a few species of grass and flowers that grow here and it has a lower wildlife value. The field looks a very uniform green colour. More animals per hectare can be grazed. Read more
Unimproved grassland
Unimproved, or wildflower, grassland has been grazed/cut for hay for 1000 years. It has a great variety of grass and flower species and supports lots of insects and other animals. This type of grassland can only feed a small number of animals per hectare. Read more
Peas
Like beans, when the roots decay, the nitrogen in the root becomes available to the following crop as a fertiliser. The biggest market for peas is animal feed, where they are useful because of their GM-free status and favourable protein content. Read more
Beans
Most of the bean crop is grown for stock feed and is used as a locally grown GM-free alternative to protein crops like soya. When the roots decay, the nitrogen in the root becomes available to the following crop as a fertiliser. Read more
Oilseed rape
Oilseed rape is widely recognised by its bright yellow flowers that can be seen from late April onwards. Today's varieties of oilseed rape have been bred to provide oil that is widely used by the food industry. Increasingly, it is processed to be used as bio diesel. Read more
Wheat
Wheat is a grass with a very swollen grain that can be ground to produce flour. Flour is used in the production of bread, biscuits, pasta and cakes. Wheat is a particularly useful crop in terms of human nutrition as it contains good levels of protein and carbohydrate. Read more
Barley
Barley is striking because of the long spikes (awns) that emerge from the end of each grain. Barley is easily identifiable on breezy days in the early summer when "waves" blow through the crop. Like wheat, barley can be ground to produce flour for the production of bread, but is particularly important in the production of beers and ales. However, around half of all barley ends up as animal feed. Read more
Oats
Oat looks like a tall grass until it ripens and becomes golden in colour. After the oat kernels are harvested, the grass part (straw) can be used for animal bedding. Oats are either rolled or crushed into oatmeal, or ground into flour. They are most commonly used for making porridge and feeding horses and cows. Read more
Silage
Silage is grass which has been preserved or 'pickled'. It is made during the summer months when there is a lot of surplus grass i.e. not needed for grazing. Grass is cut 2 or 3 times a year, stored in a big heap and subsequently squashed down and covered with black plastic. Air is kept away from the grass to enable it to pickle. Grass crops for silage are fertilised to increase production and can look very much like a conventional arable crop. Silage is fed to cattle and sheep during winter because it is quite moist, easier to eat than hay and of higher nutritional value. Read more