British landraces

Maria Scholten has written to us with some interesting websites about British landraces. She says that as Brussels prepares a new directive on the conservation of agricultural landraces, it is important to have some idea about the landraces that still survive even in countries like the UK with a highly industrialized agriculture, and the efforts underway to conserve them.

1. a sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) landrace from the eighteenth century and one grown, tested and promoted by sainfoin enthusiast Robin Hill
2. an English native red clover landrace marketed by a local British seed company
3. a barley, probably introduced by the Vikings, being researched for marketing potential on Orkney
4. a group of organic growers on Shetland working to maintain Shetland “aets” and bere barley, the historical cereals of Shetland

Thanks, Maria!