The region’s farm businesses turnover £2.7bn, more than any other region in England, but farming’s significance to the South West extends far beyond its direct financial contribution:
• Agriculture directly employs 78,000 people, over a fifth of all those working in the sector in England. When they spend their wages, it directly benefits the whole regional economy
• South West livestock farms account for almost a third of all dairy and beef cattle and calves in England, and over a fifth of all sheep and lambs
• A substantial proportion of primary production is processed regionally, supporting some of the estimated 37,000 jobs in the food and drink manufacturing sector and a large number of the 111,000 directly employed in food and drink retail
• Many thousands more are employed in services directly supporting agriculture and its supply chain to the plates of consumers, including a substantial number in transport, logistics and farm suppliers/service providers
Scene and herd – you can trust South West farmers to deliver
Beyond this, farming plays the leading role in shaping the landscape that makes so people many people want to visit the region, driving its vital tourist economy.
• Some 2 million hectares (nearly 85% of the total land area of the region) is farmed. And it is farmed in a responsible way
• The region is home to seven environmentally sensitive areas and two National Parks – accounting, together, for seven per cent of the land area
• 14 Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty make up a further 30 per cent of the land area and almost a quarter of all Sites of Special Scientific Interest in England are in the South West
• Nearly all these areas of environmental ecological and cultural importance are farmed, and farmers, in increasing numbers, are formally taking on a stewardship role, maintaining, enhancing and even restoring habitats
• Approaching two-thirds of all farmed land is managed under some form of agri-environment scheme
This is why farming matters so much in the South West!
To download a PDF leaflet version of this information, please click on 'related documents' above
No comments have been made.