Editing Lincolnshire (section)

===Agriculture===
[[File:Lincsfarmland.jpg|thumb|left|Lincolnshire farmland near [[Burton Coggles]]]]
Lincolnshire has long been a primarily agricultural area, and it continues to grow large amounts of [[wheat]], [[barley]], [[sugar beet]], and [[oilseed rape]]. In south Lincolnshire, where the soil is particularly rich in nutrients, some of the most common crops include [[potatoes]], [[cabbage]]s, [[cauliflower]]s, and [[onion]]s. Lincolnshire farmers often break world records for crop yields.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/wheat-yield-world-record-shattered-lincolnshire |title=Wheat yield world record shattered in Lincolnshire |date=24 August 2015 |newspaper=[[Farmers Weekly]] |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181207045517/https://www.fwi.co.uk/arable/wheat-yield-world-record-shattered-lincolnshire |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aafarmer.co.uk/crops/protein-crops/new-world-record-for-combined-peas-set-in-lincs.html |title=New world record for combined peas set in Lincs – Agronomist & Arable Farmer |website=Aafarmer.co.uk |date=30 August 2017 |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206192618/http://www.aafarmer.co.uk/crops/protein-crops/new-world-record-for-combined-peas-set-in-lincs.html |url-status=live }}</ref> South Lincolnshire is also home to one of the UK's leading [[agricultural experiment station]]s, located in [[Sutton Bridge]] and operated by the [[Potato Council]]; Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research engages in research for the British potato industry.<ref name="PCSB">{{cite web |url=http://www.potato.org.uk/crop-storage/about-sutton-bridge-csr |title=Potato Council Sutton Bridge Crop Storage Research (CSR) facility |website=Potato.org.uk |date=12 September 2012 |access-date=2 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130401055448/http://potato.org.uk/crop-storage/about-sutton-bridge-csr |archive-date=1 April 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[Lincoln sheep|Lincoln Longwool]] is a rare breed of sheep, named after the region, which was developed both for wool and mutton, at least 500 years ago, and has the longest fleece of any sheep breed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lincolnsheep.com/about-lincoln/history-of-the-breed/ |title=History of the Breed — National Lincoln Sheep Breeders Association |website=Lincolnsheep.com |access-date=14 December 2018 |archive-date=6 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181206235040/http://www.lincolnsheep.com/about-lincoln/history-of-the-breed/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[Lincoln Red]] is an old breed of beef cattle, originating from the county. In the mid 20th&nbsp;century most farms in Lincolnshire moved away from mixed farming to specialise in arable cropping, partly due to cheap wool imports, partly to take advantage of efficiencies of scale and partly because the drier land on the eastern side of England is particularly suitable for arable cropping.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Mechanisation around 1900 greatly diminished the number of workers required to operate the county's relatively large farms, and the proportion of workers in the agricultural sector dropped substantially during this period.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} Several major engineering companies developed in Lincoln, [[Gainsborough, Lincolnshire|Gainsborough]] and [[Grantham]] to support those changes. Among these was [[William Foster & Co Ltd|Fosters of Lincoln]], which built the first [[tank]], and [[Richard Hornsby & Sons]] of Grantham. Most such industrial companies left during late 20th-century restructuring.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

Today, [[Immigration to Europe|immigrant]] workers, mainly from [[Enlargement of the European Union|new member states of the European Union]] in Central and Eastern Europe, form a large component of the seasonal agricultural workforce, particularly in the south of the county. Here more labour-intensive crops are produced, such as small vegetables and cut flowers. This seasonal influx of migrant labour occasionally causes tension between the migrant workforce and local people, in a county which had been relatively unaccustomed to large-scale immigration.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}} Agricultural training is provided at [[Riseholme College]] and in 2016 the [[University of Lincoln]] opened the Lincoln Institute for Agri-Food Technology.