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Little research has been conducted on structural change within the UK horticultural sector. This paper examines long-term changes, over a 90-year period, in one particular part of the UK horticultural sector: strawberries. It follows its growth from being a minor crop in 1920 to becoming the biggest grossing horticultural crop in 2009. Using a combination of long-term continuous datasets of agricultural statistics and primary data gathered from a behavioural study of the sector, three distinct phases of change are identified. The last phase, in particular, witnessed the biggest changes with the introduction of protected cultivation, the industrialisation of strawberry production and the divergence of practices and marketing methods leading to the formation of two distinct farm types. This industrialisation removed the geographical disadvantage of Scotland relative to England, encouraging growth of the Scottish strawberry industry and a spatial shift in the main production centres. Supermarkets have played a dominant role in the market for fresh strawberries and their importance in driving change is of high significance. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

An examination of rural development in lagging regions is presented, focusing on niche markets for specialty food products. Topics include quality of food, region of origin, consumer networks, producer networks, institutional networks, producers, and consumers.

The concept of the local mode of social regulation (MSR) has been used to analyze the development of alternative farming enterprises (AFEs) and the institutional regulatory environment in Northern England. Focus has been given to the reregulation of rural areas with the institution of new policies and resource allocation to promote AFEs. Networking has played an important role in terms of sharing skills and resources by different sectors. MSR can also be effective in developing ways to reduce regional economic inequalities.

Discusses adjustments in business activities implemented by many farm families in Britain as part of a survival strategy due to agricultural restructuring. Insights from the developing political economy of agriculture; Off-farm employment of legal operators; Relations between alternative farm-centered and off-farm activities; Small-sized farm businesses particularly pressurised.

Within the context of recent concerns over potential health threats from BSE, E.Coli and genetically modified organisms, food quality is of increasing importance in contemporary British society. Thus food producers, retailers and government institutions are engaged in an attempt to reassure consumers that their food is of high quality and safe to consume. Yet, the concept of `quality' is one which is contested, constructed and represented differently by diverse actors operatingwithin a variety of regulatory and market arenas. The aim of this paper is to focus on one set of actors who interact to construct notions of quality within a niche market arena, namely small producers of regional speciality food products (SFPs) in the south west of England.It emerges that, despite new regulatory frameworks and consumer concerns, producers usually define quality in terms of product specification and attraction rather than through official certification schemesor association with region of origin. Food quality, however defined by producers, is essentially self-regulated and constructed within the context of maintaining stable relationships between producers and buyers. Furthermore, marketing is based on low-cost methods which demand a high personal input of time and energy from the entrepreneur. Quality, therefore, must be understood as a contested notion which is constructed by actors attempting to build stable and lasting networks between themselves and others within the market arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers are continually adjusting their business enterprises in response to the shifting economic, political and social pressures which affect each aspect of their production. These adjustments may include structural changes, agronomic (production) changes or moves into 'diversification' enterprises, and are manifest at different scales, fromthe farm unit to changes in a country's or region's agricultural structure. One factor influencing future changes in agriculture is likely to be climate change ('global warming') which will after the physical environmental conditions of production. The consequences of this might include a change in the crop species cultivated in different areas. This paper examines the responses of farmers in part of southern Britain to the possibility of growing navy beans, a crop used for baked bean manufacture and obtained almost wholly from North America, asa response to a warmer climate. The paper seeks to explore the network of relations at the farm, national and international scales which will determine the likelihood of commercial adoption of the crop occurring in the U.K. Through discussion of the results of interviews with farmers, food processing companies and associated agencies it is concluded that there are significant structural barriers to the adoption of navy beans as a diversification option on U.K. farms as a resultof international trade restraints and a measure of inertia and risk aversion within the processing companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]