A report published by the Government Office for Science in 2009 looks at future UK cereal production in the context of food security and greenhouse gas emissions.
The report considers the flexibility of land use in the UK, and prospects for crop production in the UK both in the short-term, as affected by expansion and intensification of cropping and improved crop management, and in the longer term, as affected by publicly funded research and innovation.
It is concluded that UK production of wheat and oilseed rape could be increased by 41% and 55% respectively over the next five or so years, but that this would depend on sustained high prices for crop products and it would cause some adverse environmental effects, particularly increasing greenhouse gas emissions and decreasing biodiversity through conversion of land to cropping.
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