Catto, Gavin A.

English

Research Papers in Economics

LAND USE-A PERSPECTIVE  FROM
SCOTLAND
Gavin A.  Catto
Provincial  Director, Extension Service
The East of Scotland College of Agriculture
EXTENSION'S  CHANGING  ROLE
It is a great honor to be speaking to you about land use planning
in  Scotland,  a  country  which,  after  all,  is  smaller  than  many  of
your  American  states.  But  perhaps  it  is  the  limited  area  which
makes land use  planning of particular  significance.
Since  84  percent of land  is  in agricultural  use,  any discussion
on  land  use  in  Scotland  should  start  with  agriculture.  My  own
work  in  extension  is  concerned  first  with  agricultural  land  use.
But  in  extension  work of this  kind  one  inevitably  becomes  con-
cerned  with  the  effect  on  agricultural  land  of  nonagricultural
development.
It  is  important  to  appreciate  that  criteria  other  than  hard
economics  must  be  considered  in  land  use  planning.  Land  use
change of any kind affects the environment  and its quality.  It can
affect the sensible preservation  of what may be old but is aestheti-
cally  or  historically  good  to  preserve.  Within  agriculture  it  may
affect  soil  fertility  and  future  productivity.  But  above  all,  it  can
affect ordinary  people,  their work,  their prospects,  and the social
structure  in which they live.
BACKGROUND  HISTORY
By  the middle  of the eighteenth  century,  when  the  Scots  had
patched  up  their  quarrels  with  the  English,  what  is  now  known
as  the Agricultural  Revolution  was  under way.  Scottish  "lairds"
(landowners)  who  had  become  members  of Parliament  after  the
union of the English  and Scottish  Parliaments  in  1707  were bring-
ing  back  new  ideas from  England  and Europe  and  applying them
on lands  which they  owned  in  Scotland.  Land  was  enclosed  and
made  into  fields.  Trees  and  hedges  were  planted.  Land  was
drained.  New crops were  introduced.  The introduction of the tur-
nip, for example,  had a profound influence  on Scottish agriculture.
It meant  a cleaning  crop  in  the rotation,  but above  all  it  supplied
more  food for cattle  in the winter months.  This meant  more  and
better fed cattle which produced more farmyard manure.  The more
farmyard  manure,  the better the  crops.  The  better the crops,  the
93more cattle could be kept.  Livestock  production  became,  and still
is, the  major  segment of Scotland's agricultural  economy.
All  through  the  nineteenth  century  enlightened  landlords  and
farmers  kept  improving  and  developing.  A  divinity  student  in
Dundee  invented  the  first  practical  reaper  in  1827.  Tile  drainage
was introduced.  The use of artificial fertilizers  was developed  and
increased.  Big substantial  farm  houses  and  buildings  were  built.
The  loss  of  land  for  urbanization  because  of the  industrial
revolution  was  not  regarded  as  a problem  as  it is  today.  For one
thing, urbanization created a greatly increased "doorstep"  demand
for food.  For  another,  better  road  and  rail  communications  and
the coming of the steamship opened up the rapidly expanding mar-
kets  in  England.  All  this  made  the  middle  part  of the  nineteenth
century  a  golden  age  for  Scottish  agriculture  in  the  Lowlands.
There  was  a  recession  from  the  1870's  to  the  beginning  of this
century,  partly  because  of imports  of cheap  surplus  grain  from
America.  Yet  by  the  time  of the  first  World  War,  farming  was
in a  position  to make  a  tremendous  contribution  to  much  needed
food  supplies.
Unfortunately  there  was  a  great  slump  in  agricultural  prices
in  the  1920's  and early  1930's,  with  the  result that  many  farmers
went  bankrupt,  and  although  few  farms  in  Scotland  were  aban-
doned  altogether,  many  of them,  even  good  arable  farms,  were
run with  a major proportion  in grass  and grazing livestock.  Farms
could  be  bought  at throw-away  prices,  and  landlords  were  hard
put to to  get anything  but very  small rents  from tenants.
POSTWAR  YEARS
Since  the last war we  have had another agricultural revolution,
which  has  been  profound,  and  which  has  taken  place  at  a  speed
that has  been  almost  bewildering  at times.  Not only  have we  had
great  changes  in  agriculture,  but the  pressures  on  land  for indus-
trialization  have  become  very  great  indeed.  Excluding  land  lost
to forestry,  we have  been losing  an average  of almost 6,000  acres
per annum since  1960, for roads, housing,  industrial  development,
sports  and recreation  grounds,  and  other  uses.  At  first  sight  this
may not appear to be very serious,  in  view of the  fact that agricul-
ture  and forestry will  still  be using about  90 percent of Scotland's
total land acreage.  But if development  continues  to follow the  pat-
tern  which has emerged  over the postwar  years,  the  land  lost will
tend  to  be  better  quality  agricultural  land.  Now  better  quality
agricultural  land  is  a  scarce  commodity  in  Scotland,  for  out  of
the  16.5  million  acres  classified  as  land  in  agricultural  use,  only
a  little  over  4  million  acres  is  classified  as  arable  and  grassland.
94THE HIGHLANDS
The  hill  areas  or  Highlands  of Scotland  are  in  many  ways  a
self-contained problem.  After centuries of feuds and cattle stealing
between  clans,  the  eighteenth  century  saw  an  important  stock
breeding  industry  established  on  the  high  pastures.  The  sturdy
strain of black cattle were driven over the drove roads of Scotland
to  markets  in  the  south  and  in  England,  a  tale  which  in  some
ways  parallels  your cattle droving  days  in the  Far West.
But  after  the  middle  of the  eighteenth  century  the  Highland
lairds  discovered  the  greater  money  making possibilities  of large
sheep  farms.  Many  of  the  small  tenants  who  had  depended  on
their  cattle  were  literally  driven  out  to  make  room  for  sheep.  It
was then that the great exodus of Gaels to America and the towns
began.
Sheep  farming  prospered  for  a  time  but  after the  Napoleonic
wars  in  the  early  nineteenth  century  there  was  a  recession.  The
sheep  in  turn were  all but driven out,  and  the areas of deer forest
and  grouse  moor  kept  purely  for  sporting  purposes  increased.
Again there  was an exodus of people,  and again  the  land  suffered
from neglect.
Some  of the  people  settled  on  poorer  land  around  the  coasts
of the  northern  parts  of Scotland.  Others  remained  in  Shetland
and  on  the  Western  Isles,  and  in  some  pockets  on  the  mainland
where  evictions  had not  been  wholesale  in  the  first  place.  These
areas  now  constitute what is  known as  the  crofting  areas of Scot-
land.
THE  CROFTING  PROBLEM
Now fewer than  16,000 crofters  occupy just over  18,000 crofts.
Most  of the  crofts  are  small.  Eighty-five  percent of them provide
less  than  two  days'  work,  or  two  days'  income  per  week.
Nevertheless  crofters  occupy  more  than  2 million  acres  of land,
much  of  it  in  the  most  beautiful  parts  of the  country,  where  the
balance  between  development  and  conservation  is  delicate,  and
where  the care  of the  countryside  is of great  importance.
The  social  and economic  problems  of the  crofter  are  peculiar.
Geographically  crofters  are  mostly  in  remote and  underpopulated
areas,  and  until  recent  years  there  was  the  feeling  that  official
planning  paid  scant attention  to their  specific  problems.
A crofter,  provided  he complies  with  the statutory  conditions
of his  tenancy,  can  hold  the  croft  in  perpetuity  and  pass  it  to  his
heirs,  but his  tenancy  is  still,  at law,  an annual  one.  His  security
95of tenure  is  subject  to  the  landlord's  right  to  resume  part of the
common  grazings  or inbye  land,  or indeed  the whole  croft  for  "a
reasonable  purpose,"  a  very  comprehensive  category  indeed!  A
crofter is under a statutory obligation to provide  a house  and build-
ings  which  he  does  not  own,  which  he  cannot  sell,  and  which
he cannot  use  as  security  if he  wishes  to  borrow  money.  These,
and  other  anomalies,  make  up  what  has  become  known  as  the
crofting  problem.
But  fresh  legislation  is  on  the  way.  The  special  problems  of
the  crofting areas  led  to the appointment of the  Crofting Commis-
sion  in  1955,  and  in  1968 that commission  submitted  to  the  Secre-
tary  of  State  its  recommendations  for  modernizing  crofting.
Among  the  recommendations  was  the  conversion  of  crofting
tenure  to  owner  occupancy  for  all  crofts  on  an  appointed  day.
Another  suggestion  was  the  offering  of standard  grants  for  non-
agricultural developments  on part-time crofts. There  has been long
and concentrated  discussion  of these  and other suggestions  which
are now  in the  final stages of debate  in  Parliament.
A most  important  fact  about  crofting  land  is  that  in the  High-
lands,  unlike  in most other agricultural  areas which have structural
problems,  the poor  land  is  much more fragmented  than the  good.
The enlargement  of a holding  therefore  does  not necessarily  pro-
duce  a viable farm.  It  simply means that the  crofter holds  a larger
area  of  land.  It  may  make  sense  to  amalgamate  areas  of good
land,  but the  amalgamation  of crofts  on  poor land  to  make  viable
agricultural  units  would  mean  the  end  of a  social  system  which
can  support  far  more  people  than  could  an  economy  based  on
agriculture  alone.  It  is  far  better  to  work  toward  a  part-time  or
more  properly  a  spare-time  crofter,  who  obtains  employment
within  reach  of his  croft,  or  by  fishing,  weaving,  and  tourism  as
many  indeed do  now.
AFFORESTATION
Since  the  last war a fairly  large tree-planting  program has  been
undertaken  in  Scotland,  invariably  on  hill  land where  sheep farm-
ing predominated.  Controversy arose in the postwar years because
of what  upland  and  sheep  farmers  described  as  indiscriminate
planting of large  areas of hill  land.  Because the Forestry  Commis-
sion  already  owned  the  land,  there  was  a  tendency  to  plant trees
without due concern  about  the  integration  of forestry  and agricul-
ture.  Fortunately that phase has passed to some extent,  and farm-
ers  on  the  uplands  and  hills  now  realize  that  fairly  large  blocks
of trees  planted judiciously  over  a wide  area  can  alter  the  micro
climate  to the  benefit  of farming and  livestock  production.
96The  annual  planting  rate  for  forestry  is  now  approximately
40,000  acres,  about  half  of which  is  in  the  crofting  areas.  The
Forestry Commission  must discuss  any proposals  to acquire  farm
land  with the  Department of Agriculture  for Scotland,  so that due
account  can  be  taken  of the  relative  advantages  of leaving  it  in
agriculture or taking  it for afforestation.
In  recent  years  private forestry  investment  groups  have  been
purchasing farms at  above agricultural  value for extensive affores-
tation on behalf of clients who wish to secure the  60 percent remis-
sion  of death  duties  at  present  allowed  on land  used  for forestry
or agriculture.  There  is as yet no  mechanism  for preventing  what
is  proving  to  be  considerable  inroads  into  good  uplands  suitable
for the  rearing of cattle  and sheep.
INDUSTRIAL  DEVELOPMENT  AFFECTING  THE  HIGHLANDS
According  to  the  most recent  report  issued  by  the  Highlands
and Islands  Development  Board (which is responsible  to the Scot-
tish  Development  Department),  it  is  expected  that  by  the  last
decade  of this  century  6,500  acres  of land  in  the  Northeast  of
Scotland  will  be  needed  for housing  and  industrial  development.
In  1968  a  case  was  made  for  industrial  development  there  and
as  a  result  a  big  aluminum  smelting  plant  is  now  in  operation.
More  recently  the  discovery  of oil  in  quantity  in  the  North  Sea
has  led  to  unprecedented  activity  around  the  coasts  in  the  East
and Northeast  of Scotland.
This  latest  report,  however,  makes  a  courageous  effort  to
assess farming,  which is on very good land,  in the rapidly changing
environment of the  region.  While  it is accepted  that  some  agricul-
tural land  will  be needed  to allow economic development,  agricul-
ture itself will  benefit  because  of the  greatly  increased  population
largely  dependent  on  oil-based  employment.  This  report  should
ensure that farming interests in the area are fully taken into account
as economic development goes ahead,  and it should also strengthen
the understanding between industrialists,  planners,  and the farming
population.  But the report does not offer a solution for the problem
of relatively  low paid workers employed  in agriculture  and forestry
or engaged  in catering for tourism,  leaving more  distant glens and
Highland areas  for the  big money  oil-based jobs.
THE  ROLE OF EXTENSION  IN  LAND  USE
As  the pressures  on  land grow,  agricultural  extension workers
must become more  and more  aware of,  and involved  in,  the prob-
lems which  arise from  change  in land use.  There  are  special pres-
sures  and  problems  for those  farming  on the fringe  of urban  and
97industrial development.  Here, the extension worker must be active
in  promoting  better  understanding  between  the  urban  population
and  those  who  earn  their  living  from  the  land.  We  should  make
full  use  not  only  of specialists  involved  in  agriculture  as  such,
but also  of those  attached to official  organizations  concerned  with
other facets of land use.
CONCLUSION
In  the  back  of  my  mind  is  the  belief  that  any  country  which
does not  produce  a high  proportion  of its own  basic  food  supply
is  strategically  weak,  and  vulnerable  to  "demand"  prices  for
imported  foodstuffs.  Remarkable  progress  has been  made  in  the
intensification of production,  particularly  from our better land,  and
no  doubt  scientists  and  farmers  have  many  innovations  in  store
which  will  raise  yields  per  acre  and  the  capacity  of grassland  to
carry  more  stock.  But  more  intensive  use  of resources  can  lead
to problems of husbandry,  maintenance of soil fertility, and ecolog-
ical  balance.  This emphasizes  the necessity  of a  realistic  land use
policy  in  relation  to  current  and anticipated  economic  and  social
pressures.
98PART IV
Agricultural and Foreign
Trade

LAND USE-- A PERSPECTIVE FROM SCOTLAND

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