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 | | Farmland is the largest component of the Brecks landscape today, occupying three fifths of the total area. | |
| | | | The history of farming
The history of farming in the Brecks stretches back around 5000 years click here to find out more about settlement .
Neolithic people were the first farmers in the Brecks - by clearing wooded areas they created open pasture and arable land.
Over the centuries the people of the Brecks became adept at making a living from the poor soils, with medieval sheep farming and rabbit warrening (click here for our leaflet on Rabbit Warrening), together with the large shooting estates of the 19th and early 20th century all playing their part.
Discover more about the fascinating story of people and the land in the Brecks by downloading our ‘Historic places in the Brecks’ leaflet click here.
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| | | | | Modern farming
Modern agricultural technology has transformed the profitability of farming in the Brecks.
Heavy investment in irrigation equipment enables farmers to grow sugar beet, potatoes and carrots where once viper’s bugloss, wheatears and adders flourished.
In the late 1980s, policies to encourage less environmentally damaging ways of farming were introduced under the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) schemes.
The Breckland ESA started in 1988, paying farmers to manage their land for the benefit of wildlife and landscape conservation.
A new scheme - Environmental Stewardship (ES) - was launched in England in 2005 to replace existing agri- environmental schemes including ESA.
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