Back to Main Page	Back to GCSE Page	Back to Economic Systems Menu

European Union Farming – Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

 

CAP was a government policy funded by the EU to help farmers. CAP use to spend 70% of the European Union’s total budget through the following ways

Subsidies – this was money given to farmers per head of livestock to help towards the cost of rearing them.

Set–aside – This was money given to farmers when they did not grow food on an area of their farm (£200 per hectare)

Guaranteed prices – Farmers were guaranteed that if their crops did not get a certain price at market the EU would make up the differences.

Quotas – a set amount of produce that a farmer can produce.  If the more is produced the farmer is fined.  This was introduced after the overproduction of milk.

Grants – this is money given to farmers who do activities that are environmentally friendly such as planting hedges.

Can you think of the positives and negatives of this system? (for EU and non EU farmers)

Our case study for this topic is Home farm near Birmingham. An alternative case study can be seen below;

 

Activities

Visit the Face Online website, it has lots of different farm profiles that you can explore. If you follow this link to Bradley Farm, you can complete the following;

1. Complete the table below on the factors affecting Bradley Farm;

 

Human factors affecting the farm	Physical factors affecting the farm

 

2. What type of farming happens on this farm? Use the list of farm types to help you.

3. Why is this farm limited to this type of farming? Which factors prevent other types of farming?

4. How does the European Union affect the farming that occurs on the farm?

5. Calculate the budget for this farm using this excel sheet.

6. Should farmers have to diversify to survive?

7. Find out more about diversification

8. Farming in The European Union matching key terms exercise

 

Video

What is the message of this YouTube cartoon about the European Union Budget? To what extent do you agree with its message?	Watch the borders of Europe change throughout History