British farms could be wasteland in 30 years

More environmental doom. Quoting:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5014541/Farms-wasteland-just-30-years-says-Gove.html#ixzz4woR4wPbe

* Environment Secretary Michael Gove has warned against intensive farming
* He said we have encouraged a type of farming which damages the earth
* Gove has criticised the use of heavy machines and the use of chemicals
* Figures show that Britain has lost 84 per cent of its fertile topsoil since 1850

Parts of Britain’s farmland are just 30 to 40 years away from becoming barren wastelands, Michael Gove has warned. Intensive farming, chemical sprays, and use of heavy machinery is leading to ‘the fundamental eradication of soil fertility’, said the Environment Secretary . . .

‘Countries can withstand coups d’etat, wars and conflict, even leaving the EU, but no country can withstand the loss of its soil and fertility.

‘If you have heavy machines churning the soil and impacting it, if you drench it in chemicals that improve yields but in the long term undercut the future fertility of that soil, you can increase yields year on year but ultimately you really are cutting the ground away from beneath your own feet. Farmers know that.’

Mr Gove added that he hoped the SSA [Sustainable Soils Alliance], a body formed with the mission of bringing UK soils back to health within a generation, would hold government to account.

Britain’s farms will be in the spotlight as the country exits the European Union – meaning they will no longer be subject to the Common Agricultural Policy.

Environmental groups see Mr Gove’s remarks as a sign that reforms will be more sympathetic to less intensive farming practices. Mr Gove has previously signalled he would not want to see ‘US-style’ farming practices in the UK, such as chlorine-washed chicken or GM crops. His comments also come as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is set to release a new agriculture bill, as well as a 25-year environmental plan.

Intense farming practices, such as deep ploughing, rapid crop-rotation and ever-larger fields free of trees can allow wind and rain to carry away the top layer of soil. One of the areas most hit by soil erosion has been the East Anglian Fens. According to a report by the Committee on Climate Change, the UK has lost 84 per cent of its fertile topsoil since 1850, with the erosion continuing at a rate of 1cm to 3cm a year.

England's good quality farm soil was a big part of what made it a great nation. I hope it's not too late to get most of it back.

It's important for not being dependant to others countries to have strong farms.