down Airedale and many Craven families, made redundant by agricultural machinery, moved south to work in the worsted mills. However, in 1966 the price of wool fell by 40% due to the increased popularity of synthetic fibres. Farmers complain it now costs more to shear a sheep than you can get for its wool and the result is reduced flocks. Although the tough wool of hill sheep is still used for carpet weaving, sheep breeding is now mostly for lambs to sell on for fattening for meat in low pastures. Forestry Woodlands are an important component of the landscape and are crucial to scenic beauty. The small surviving areas of ancient woodland have high biodiversity value. However the Pennines are now notably lacking in trees despite archaeological evidence showing 90% was woodlands before human settlement. Palynology indicates the decline in trees coincided with the increase in grasses in Neolithic times caused by direct clearance for pasture and by overgrazing. Since sheep are grazers, not browsers, they do not affect mature trees, but they devour all their seedlings. With a much narrower face than cattle, they crop plants very close to the ground and with continuous grazing can overgraze land rapidly. Ancient Common Grazing rights made it impossible to grow trees, even for fuel, because coppicing requires enclosure to protect regrowth from sheep, and the rights deny enclosure. From 2002 to 2008, a Yorkshire Dales National Park programme encouraged sheep farmers to switch uplands livestock from sheep to cattle since they do not graze so intensively. Traditional breeds such as Blue Greys and Belted Galloways can survive the harsh winters and live off the rough grasses just as well a sheep. Until December 2013, The National Park Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme is offering grants to help farming, forestry and horticultural businesses become more efficient, more profitable and resilient whilst reducing the impact of farming on the environment. Since 1968, some moorland has been reforested by the Forestry Commission. Since 2005, the collection of indigenous seeds and propagation produced saplings for planting schemes that began in 2010. Between 2007 and 2013 The Dales Woodland Restoration Programme funded the creation of 450 hectares of new native woodland, almost all on privately owned land. Cattle In the 16th and 17th centuries Longhorn cattle prevailed in Craven. Good quality bulls were bought communally to improve the livestock on the common land beside each village.