Farming in the West Midlands (Summary only)

Abstract

West Midland farming is very varied—from intensive dairying in Cheshire and Staffordshire to intensive arable work in central Shropshire; from hop growing in Worcestershire and Herefordshire to store raising in the hills and summer feeding on the heavy clays of Warwickshire.South Cheshire is the focal point of the great milk producing country which stretches from North Wales to Nottingham. Milk is the key note of farming throughout Cheshire and Staffordshire and a great part of north Shropshire. This was the home of farmhouse cheese-making. The region is naturally fertile and has been well worked for a long time; though lime shortage is still considerable. It is densely stocked with cows and carries a high human population; smallholdings are very numerous. No area in the country carries such a high cattle stock per acre. It looks as though numbers of cows have at last reached their peak, though the output of milk is still rising. There has been a great movement towards ensilage, particularly grass ensilage, in recent years. Attestation is now going strong after a slow start.