Due to changes in farming practices, arable-associated plants and animals have suffered some of the worst declines of any species in Britain. Against this backdrop of catastrophic loss, Clive Hurford, Jonathan Storkey, Emily Swan and Phil Wilson highlight a handful of farms demonstrating that a reversal in fortunes of arable species is possible.
Farming in Britain is of considerable antiquity. Evidence now suggests that a full mixed farming package of domesticated livestock and arable crops arrived shortly after 4000bce and spread throughout the archipelago very rapidly (Rowley-Conwy et al. 2020).