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South West

South West

The South West has almost 25% of the UK's agricultural holdings and more sheep, dairy, and beef cattle than any other region, plus more than 494,000 hectares of arable land.
Herd of cattle grazing on Dartmoor. iStock.com/savoilic

Place

The South West is one of the more exposed regions in England, with some of the country’s highest average wind speeds on its extensive coastline and rolling hills.

Production

Sheep are generally farmed in hilly areas and 20% of England’s sheep are in the South West. Similarly, the warm, wet climate and gentler rolling hills of the region make it more suitable for dairy farming. A huge 38% of England’s dairy herd is farmed here.

People

The South West is home to 25,880 farm holdings, which is 10,000 more than any of other region in England. Consequently, it also employs the most farm workers of any region in the UK, an impressive 65,988 people.

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West Midlands
<p>Despite the rolling hills, the West Midlands region is predominantly lowland area made up of sandstone, clay and underlying coal, giving the land a rich red colour.</p>
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South East
<p>Lowlands characterise the South East. These areas are made up of sedimentary rock and clays, forming flat agricultural plains.</p>
Editorial statistics sourced from Defra's current data set.
Data for workforce proportions taken from TIAH's own labour market information research.