The Learning Hub will be closed for maintenance from 5am until 2pm on 5 November. For information, email: [email protected].

West Midlands

West Midlands

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.
Salad crops in Shropshire. iStock.com/Caroline Anderson

Place

The longest river in the UK – the Severn – winds its way through the region and many of the pastures are home to grazing livestock.

Production

In fact, predominant farm types in the West Midlands region are cereals, which accounted for 27% of the region's total farmed area in 2022, and grazing livestock at 26%. Plenty of fruit and hops are grown in the West Midlands and the region is known for its cider and perry making.

People

The West Midlands employs 41,275 workers across more than 14,000 farms.

Responsive Image
<p>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.</p>
Responsive Image
<p>The climate here is highly varied and includes the coldest place in England, Cross Fell in the Pennines, and the wettest, the Lakeland fells surrounding Seathwaite and Cumbria.</p>
Editorial statistics sourced from Defra's current data set.
Data for workforce proportions taken from TIAH's own labour market information research.