North West England

North West England

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.
Two sheep among the hills of the Lake District. iStock.com/Shaiith

Place

The North West is characterised by beautiful upland landscapes, and sheep are generally farmed in hilly areas with 20% of the UK’s sheep grazing the hillsides and fields.

Production

The North West is home to more than 26% of England's dairy herd, and this sector contributed £1.1 billion to the region's farming output.

Farming as a whole is worth about £2.5 billion in the region, with dairy output representing about 42% of that total.

People

There are more than 12,600 farm holdings in the North West, more than half of which produce livestock, and farming employs more than 33,000 staff across the region.

Editorial statistics sourced from Defra's current data set.
Data for workforce proportions taken from TIAH's own labour market information research.