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FARMING .....
There are well over 2,000 farms in the Peak District National Park. Most of these farms are small - less than 40 hectares (100 acres). Some of them are farmed by tenants of large landowners, such as the Duke of Devonshire or the Duke of Rutland. Others are privately owned.
Over 60% of the farms are considered by the Ministry of Agriculture to be too small to provide a full-time living and many are therefore run on a part-time basis (the farmer has another job as well as running the farm). The census of 1991 showed that 2,000 park residents were farmers or agricultural workers.
Around 54% of the National Park is enclosed farmland: much of the rest of the Park provides rough grazing - mostly the 35% of the park which is moorland. Areas of the moorland are managed for grouse but a good deal is also used as grazing for sheep. Dairy farming is most common in the limestone areas and in the lower river valleys where the land is not so exposed and the grass is richer.
All of the Peak District National Park is a less favoured area under EC classifications and so qualifies for special grants and subsidies. Productivity is poor because much of the land is 300 metres or more above sea level, temperatures are low (a summer average is around 11 - 120 C) and so the growing season is very short.
In 1984 the amount of milk that farmers could produce was controlled. This milk quota for each farm has been cut again since then and this has meant that dairy farmers have diversified into sheep and beef farming. The abolition of the Milk Marketing Board in 1994 is leading to some changes in milk production in the Park.
The reservoirs of the Peak District National Park supply 450 million litres of water a day to the many towns and cities that surround it.
There are no natural lakes in the Peak Park, but its relatively high rainfall (average 100 cm per year) and many shale valleys, make it very suitable for water gathering.
There are 55 reservoirs of over 2 hectares within the Park. The largest area of reservoirs is in the Upper Derwent valley with Ladybower, Derwent and Howden reservoirs covering 340 hectares. Other important reservoirs are in the Goyt Valley (Fernilee, Errwood) and in Upper Longdendale.
There are a number of walking and riding routes around the reservoirs. The large water catchment area owned by the Water Companies (15% of the National Park) was originally needed to control water quality. Improved water treatment methods mean such a high degree of control is no longer needed. This fact and the establishment of the private Water Companies may result in changes in the land use of these areas.
An example is the sale of Crookhill Farm (130 hectares) in the Upper Derwent Valley, from Severn Trent Water to the National Trust. There have also been a number of proposals to convert Water Company properties to other uses.
Most of the Peak National Park is privately owned. Only 4.2% of the Park is owned by the National Park Authority.
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