Abstract.Survey information on the use of lime in England and Wales between 1974 and 1983 shows year‐to‐year fluctutions but no marked trend. Areas limed per year are compared for different types of region and cropping, and estimates given of the percentages of agricultural soils by pH according to rotation type. There was no general change in soil acidity between 1969–73 and 1974–78 but recent data show some reductions in grass