Subsidy changes encouraged farmers to grow maize for biofuel. Since early 1990's, land to grow maize has tripled, having negative implications for soil erosion, because maize crop has shallow roots that do not support the soil, and the crops are harvested in late autumn (after which more likely to experience high rainfall during winter). 'Where maize is grown in UK, up to half of river sediment comes from maize fields'. (State of the Environment soil report, 2019)' (ref 12).