Agriculture has historically been the primary industry of the English county of Cheshire. Dairy farming has predominated, and the county was particularly known for cheese-making.
The area now forming Cheshire was sparsely populated during the entire prehistoric period compared with southern England.[1] The earliest archaeological evidence of farming dates from the Early Neolithic period (4000–3001 BC); excavations at Oversley Farm near Styal found remains of burnt cereals associated with an Early Neolithic rectangular timber structure.[2] Burnt grain found at Tatton in association with post holes and flint artefacts dated to 3500–2900 BC has been interpreted as a transitory farming settlement.[3] Local historian W.J. Varley speculates that the earliest Neolithic farmers cleared the forest to cultivate emmer wheat and barley using mattocks of bone or stone, and herded oxen, goats, sheep and pigs using dogs; they lacked ploughs and horses.[4]
The absence of lime-rich basic soils and the high rainfall might have delayed Cheshire's agricultural exploitation compared with the adjacent areas of North Wales and the Peak District, with light soils overlaying sand, gravel or sandstone being cultivated before poorly drained clay soils.[1][5][6] In the Bronze Age, agricultural usage was largely concentrated on uplands in the Pennine fringe in the east of the county and the Mid Cheshire Ridge.[6] This trend continued during the Iron Age, although there were some scattered lowland farmsteads such as at Bruen Stapleford.[7]
Roman occupation
Pollen analysis suggests extensive forest clearance had occurred by or during the Roman period, although there is little evidence that the land was cultivated; felling could have been necessary to fuel the salt industry. Only limited evidence of Roman field systems has been found in the county; possible examples include Longley Farm, Kelsall, Pale Heights, Eddisbury and Somerford Hall, near Congleton.[8]Spelt was grown at the Roman settlement of Wilderspool[8] and a farmstead has been excavated at Birch Heath, Tarporley.[9] Querns have been discovered at the settlement at Saltney, near the legionary fortress of Deva (Chester); the site has been suggested to have grown cereals for the garrison, although the heavy clay soil makes this less likely.[10] Corn-drying ovens were installed at Cheshire's only known Roman villa at Eaton by Tarporley.[8]
Domesday survey
The Domesday survey of 1086 forms the first documentary evidence for agriculture in the county. The county continued to be sparsely populated at this date compared with southern England and the South Midlands.[11][12] The total population has been estimated to lie between 10,500 and 11,000, with a population density ranging from almost uninhabited in the east of the county to 20 per square mile in the Wirral and the valleys of the Dee, Gowy and Weaver.[11] The county contained around 490 hides of farmed land, mainly in the west, where "hide" refers to a variable area probably equivalent to the land that could support a household.[13] A total of 935 ploughlands was recorded, although there were only 456 plough teams.[13] One interpretation of these figures is that only around 50% of the available arable land was in cultivation at the time of the survey, perhaps because much of the county had made only a limited recovery from the devastation caused by William I's suppression of the Mercian uprisings sixteen years previously.[13] An alternative view is that some land had not previously been taxed.[14]
At the time of the Domesday survey, mixed subsistence farming was the norm. The main crops grown were wheat, barley, oats and peas.[15] Very little meadow was recorded in the Domesday survey; the majority lay in river valleys and probably represented water meadows.[13] Though not mentioned in the survey, cattle, pigs and sheep were presumably the main livestock at this date.[15]
Medieval and Tudor periods
In the 12th century, the area was described as being "unproductive of cereals, especially of corn".[16] During the 12th to 14th centuries, the main crops were barley, oats and rye, with wheat also being frequently grown.[17] In the 15th and 16th centuries, barley and oats were grown across the county, with rye being largely concentrated in the south; wheat was also grown in some areas, although much of the land was unsuitable. Peas and beans were mainly grown in the north, and other crops included hemp and flax.[18] The three-field system of crop rotation appears not to have been commonly used in the county, with irregular field systems taking its place, as in much of northern England.[15][17] There is evidence for around 250 commonly held open fields across Cheshire, which were generally smaller than those in the Midlands, and used a two-field or multiple-field pattern.[19][20] Oxen were usually preferred over horses for ploughing.[21] Orchards were recorded in Chester in the 16th century.[18] The designation of the three royal hunting forests of Mara and Mondrem, Macclesfield and Wirral, which at their height covered around 40% of the county, significantly slowed agricultural development within their boundaries.[22] The rise in population during the 12th and 13th centuries created a need for increased agricultural output, and trees were cleared in the forests (assarting) and marsh reclaimed for use as arable land.[19] Agricultural efficiency also improved during this period with, for example, the practice of applying a clay and lime mixture termed marl as a fertiliser from the early 13th century, earlier than in much of Britain. Marl pits were common in some parts of the county.[23][24] Subsistence agriculture was gradually replaced by the trade of surplus produce at local markets and fairs.[15]
By the early 14th century, cattle were frequently recorded straying in the hunting forests, and beef was exported from the county. There are records of dairy herds, for example at Macclesfield, in the mid-14th century.[25] Large numbers of pigs were fed on acorns and nuts in the forests and woodland by right of pannage on payment of a fine, and pork was exported from the county in the 13th and 14th centuries.[25][26] Although the adjacent counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire were important in wool production, Cheshire was probably never a significant sheep-farming area, although it probably produced sufficient wool for domestic use.[27] Large sheep farms were concentrated in the hilly areas of Macclesfield Forest and in cleared areas of Delamere.[28]
In Cheshire as elsewhere in England, clearance of land for agriculture was interrupted by the Black Death of 1348–51, when a substantial proportion of agricultural workers died.[19] Small-scale enclosure of land for use as private arable fields or cattle pasture started in around the 15th century and escalated during the Tudor era, although town fields, remnants of the open-field system, remained until the late 18th or early 19th century.[19][29] Towards the end of the 14th century, some arable land was converted into pasture.[17] Although the three royal forests remained protected wooded areas, by the mid-15th century, some areas had been cleared for use as pasture, especially in the upland regions of Macclesfield Forest, and all the forests continued to be used to pasture pigs and goats.[30] Although mixed farming remained the norm across the county throughout the medieval period,[19] cattle farming increased during the 15th and early 16th centuries, with dairy cattle predominating in the south and west, and beef cattle in the north.[31]
The dissolution of the monasteries saw the land farmed by the religious houses across the county being forfeit to the Crown between 1536 and 1540. Cheshire contained a higher proportion of monastic land than average, with most of the county's land belonging either to a monastery or to the Crown, and monastic land was in general well managed. St Werburgh's in Chester alone held 57 manors in Cheshire, and Vale Royal, Combermere and Norton also had considerable land holdings. Much of the land was sold or leased to lay members of the Cheshire gentry, creating large estates, although St Werburgh's holdings were used to endow the new cathedral.[32][33]
17th century to the mid-19th century
Cheese-making was already well established by the early years of the 17th century, when William Camden attested to the quality of the product:
"[T]he grass of this Country has a peculiar good quality, so that they make great store of Cheese, more agreeable and better relish'd than those of any other parts of the Kingdom, even when they procur the same Dary Women to make them.[34]"
In the mid-17th century, Cheshire cheese began to be sent by sea from Chester and Liverpool to the London market, and later to the North West. Subsequently, dairy farming and cheese production in the county expanded rapidly, becoming more commercialised.[35][36] Farms started to pool their milk to make large cheeses for export in specialised dairies, a practice then sufficiently unusual to draw comment from travel-writer Celia Fiennes. By 1729, the trade with London has been estimated at 5,860tons of cheese, and Cheshire cheese remained the leading brand on the London market until the mid-19th century. During this period, cheese continued to be made by hand, using traditional methods.[36]
By 1850, Cheshire cheese was being overtaken in popularity by Cheddar from Somerset, and over the following decades there was also increasing competition from cheeses made in the Netherlands and America. Cheshire dairies began to adopt modern production practices pioneered by Somerset innovator, Joseph Harding, but were slow to adopt industrial cheese-making practices developed in America. The proximity to rapidly growing urban centres, together with the expanding railway network, also led to an increase in the production of milk during this period, although cheese remained the county's major dairy product.[36]
Epidemics of cattle disease, including foot and mouth disease in 1839, several outbreaks of pleuropneumonia, and rinderpest (cattle plague) in 1865–66, led to the formation of numerous friendly societies and mutual associations to provide assistance to farmers; several were sponsored by the landowners of the county's major estates, particularly Cholmondeley, Crewe and Peckforton. A short-lived cattle insurance company was also established in Knutsford in 1865. The 1865–66 rinderpest epidemic affected much of England but was particularly devastating in Cheshire; entire herds died and the county's economy collapsed for 18 months.[38]
The land use survey of 1877 recorded 529,381 acres (214,233ha) of farmland, of which 355,016 acres (143,670ha) was permanent grass and 174,365 acres (70,563ha) was arable land, with additionally 1,384 acres (560ha) of orchards, 896 acres (363ha) of market gardens and 487 acres (197ha) of nursery grounds.[39][40] In around 1870, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described the agriculture of the county:
The estates, in general, are large; but the farms, on the average, are under 100 acres. Leases commonly run eleven years. Husbandry has undergone much improvement; but is still in need of much more. Wheat was formerly a famous produce; but is now less cultivated than before. Potatoes have considerable attention, and average about 10 tons per acre. Cheese is a main produce; and is exported, to all parts of England and to the Continent, to the amount of about 12,000 tons a year. Butter also is made in considerable quantity. Much attention has been paid to the breed of cows. About 65,000 sheep are kept, yielding about 1,250 packs of wool a year.[41]
John Bartholomew's Gazetteer of the British Isles of 1887 described "numerous excellent dairy farms" producing the "celebrated Cheshire cheese", but also mentioned "extensive market gardens, the produce of which is sent to Liverpool, Manchester, and the neighbouring towns."[42]
Agriculture, especially dairy farming, continued to be Cheshire's primary industry during the 20th century, despite a substantial decline in the proportion of the workforce employed in the sector.[43] The number of full-time agricultural workers halved between the 1920s and 1985, and the agricultural workforce has continued to decline into the 21st century.[43][44] Agricultural earnings increased rapidly over the century, approaching pay in the industrial sector since the Second World War, reflecting an increase in skills required as farming practices were modernised.[43] In 1921, the Cheshire School of Agriculture opened at Reaseheath, near Nantwich, offering tertiary-level education in agriculture for the first time.[43]
By the early years of the century, milk was beginning to overtake cheese as the main dairy product, mainly to supply the large urban centres close to the county's borders. Milk production required more intensive farming practices; the introduction of tuberculin-tested milk in 1923 and the drive towards increased hygiene also led to changes, including the replacement of traditional shorthorn cattle with Ayrshires and later Friesians, and the gradual adoption of milking machines. Surplus milk production was a problem until the 1930s; it was a major concern of the local branch of the National Farmers Union, founded early in the century, until the creation of the Milk Marketing Board in 1933, which guaranteed a fair minimum price.[43] Farm-based cheese production began to decline early in the century; in 1914 around 2,000 Cheshire farms still sold cheese, but this had fallen to 405 in 1939.[36][43] In the mid-1920s, Cheshire cheese accounted for 30% of the non-imported domestic cheese market, second only to Cheddar, but competed poorly with imported cheese.[36] In an attempt to improve its competitiveness with factory-made foreign cheeses, which were more uniform in quality, a grading scheme was introduced for Cheshire cheese towards the end of the 1920s; this voluntary scheme was superseded from the 1930s by various compulsory national grading schemes.[36] During the Second World War all cheese production was transferred to factories termed "creameries" and rationing meant that Cheshire cheese had to be reformulated to reduce its tendency to crumble when cut.[36] The county's cheese-producing farms never recovered; they numbered 44 in 1948 and as few as 12 by 1974.[36][43] Outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in 1923–24, 1952, 1960–61, 1967–68 and 2001 caused substantial losses to dairy farmers in the county.[43][45]
Mechanisation of arable farming started during the First World War, in an attempt to increase efficiency due to the scarcity of labour, and continued during the depression of the interwar period, when low food prices sharply reduced farmers' profits. It accelerated with the outbreak of the Second World War, and continued since then. A total of 120,000 acres (49,000ha) of pasture were ploughed during the Second World War to increase the production of wheat, potatoes and root vegetables, with the Women's Land Army, school children, refugees and prisoners of war all contributing labour.[43]
Early in the century there was agricultural diversification into market gardening, initially to produce vegetables and flowers for urban consumption. Soft fruit production increased after the 1960s, particularly with "pick-your-own" farms; container-grown plants also started to be produced.[43] The number of specialised smallholdings, such as poultry farms, increased during the century.[43]
In 1985 nearly 500,000 acres (200,000ha) were used for agriculture, a relatively small decrease from the figures for 1877, with around 8,500 farms. Six estates of over 1,000 acres (400ha) still survived, the largest being the Grosvenor Estate of approximately 10,800 acres (4,400ha).[43] In 2007, agricultural land had reduced to 163,100 hectares (403,000 acres) in 4,545 holdings; it still represented 70% of Cheshire's total area.[44] The total workforce employed in farming was 8,744, with nearly half (47%) being part-time and 7% casual.[44] The trend towards smallholdings was maintained with nearly half (47%) of all holdings being of less than 5 hectares (12 acres), and almost two-thirds (66%) below 20 hectares (49 acres); only 7% were 100 hectares (250 acres) or above.[44] The total number of cattle (both dairy and beef) in 2006 was 225,640, representing 23% of the breeding herds in the North-West of England; however, the number of dairy holdings was in steep decline, from 988 in 2002 to 716 in 2007.[44][46]
A farm is an area of land that is devoted primarily to agricultural processes with the primary objective of producing food and other crops; it is the basic facility in food production. The name is used for specialised units such as arable farms, vegetable farms, fruit farms, dairy, pig and poultry farms, and land used for the production of natural fibres, biofuel and other commodities. It includes ranches, feedlots, orchards, plantations and estates, smallholdings and hobby farms, and includes the farmhouse and agricultural buildings as well as the land. In modern times the term has been extended so as to include such industrial operations as wind farms and fish farms, both of which can operate on land or sea.
The British Agricultural Revolution, or Second Agricultural Revolution, was an unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain arising from increases in labour and land productivity between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries. Agricultural output grew faster than the population over the century to 1770, and thereafter productivity remained among the highest in the world. This increase in the food supply contributed to the rapid growth of population in England and Wales, from 5.5 million in 1700 to over 9 million by 1801, though domestic production gave way increasingly to food imports in the nineteenth century as the population more than tripled to over 35 million. The rise in productivity accelerated the decline of the agricultural share of the labour force, adding to the urban workforce on which industrialization depended: the Agricultural Revolution has therefore been cited as a cause of the Industrial Revolution.
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed for eventual sale of a dairy product.
Delamere Forest is a large wood in the village of Delamere in Cheshire, England. The woodland, which is managed by Forestry England, covers an area of 972 hectares making it the largest area of woodland in the county. It contains a mixture of deciduous and evergreen trees.
Pastoral farming is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, arable farming concentrates on crops rather than livestock. Finally, Mixed farming incorporates livestock and crops on a single farm. Some mixed farmers grow crops purely as fodder for their livestock; some crop farmers grow fodder and sell it. In some cases pastoral farmers are known as graziers, and in some cases pastoralists. Pastoral farming is a non-nomadic form of pastoralism in which the livestock farmer has some form of ownership of the land used, giving the farmer more economic incentive to improve the land. Unlike other pastoral systems, pastoral farmers are sedentary and do not change locations in search for fresh resources. Rather, pastoral farmers adjust their pastures to fit the needs of their animals. Improvements include drainage, stock tanks, irrigation and sowing clover.
Agriculture in Idaho is an important part of the state's way of life and represents a substantial portion of the state's economy. 20% of Idaho's sales each year are generated by agriculture and food/beverage processing. In 2015, agricultural products were valued at $7,463,718,000, with slightly over half of that from the sale of livestock and dairy products. Cattle is the second largest agriculture sector of the state and Idaho is the third largest producer of milk and cheese in the United States. Although dairy plays a significant role in the economy, Idaho is most known for its potatoes. Idaho is the number one producer of potatoes in the nation and contributes to 32% of the country's production. Idaho has nearly 25,000 farms and ranches spread over 11.8 million acres of land that produces more than 185 different commodities. The state's production ranks in the top ten in the nation in nearly 30 of the commodities it produces.
Poole is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies to the north west of Nantwich and to the west of Crewe. The Shropshire Union Canal runs through the parish. Nearby villages include Acton, Aston juxta Mondrum, Barbridge, Stoke Bank, Rease Heath and Worleston.
Florence Lucy Appleby MBE was an English traditional cheesemaker. She created 'Mrs Appleby's Cheshire' which by the time of her death was the last remaining Cheshire cheese to observe the traditions of using unpasteurised milk from the farm herd, being bound in calico cloth and matured on-farm. Lucy went on to co-found the Specialist Cheesemakers Association to defend the use of unpasteurised milk in cheesemaking.
Agriculture in Scotland includes all land use for arable, horticultural or pastoral activity in Scotland, or around its coasts. The first permanent settlements and farming date from the Neolithic period, from around 6,000 years ago. From the beginning of the Bronze Age, about 2000 BCE, arable land spread at the expense of forest. From the Iron Age, beginning in the seventh century BCE, there was use of cultivation ridges and terraces. During the period of Roman occupation there was a reduction in agriculture and the early Middle Ages were a period of climate deterioration resulting in more unproductive land. Most farms had to produce a self-sufficient diet, supplemented by hunter-gathering. More oats and barley were grown, and cattle were the most important domesticated animal. From c. 1150 to 1300, the Medieval Warm Period allowed cultivation at greater heights and made land more productive. The system of infield and outfield agriculture may have been introduced with feudalism from the twelfth century. The rural economy boomed in the thirteenth century, but by the 1360s there was a severe falling off in incomes to be followed by a slow recovery in the fifteenth century.
In New Zealand, agriculture is the largest sector of the tradable economy. The country exported NZ$46.4 billion worth of agricultural products in the 12 months to June 2019, 79.6% of the country's total exported goods. The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector directly contributed $12,653 million of the national GDP in the 12 months to September 2020, and employed 143,000 people, 5.9% of New Zealand's workforce, as of the 2018 census.
Agriculture in the United Kingdom uses 69% of the country's land area, employs 1.5% of its workforce and contributes 0.6% of its gross value added. The UK produces less than 60% of the food it consumes. Agricultural activity occurs in most rural locations, it is concentrated in East Anglia and the South West (livestock). There are 212,000 farm holdings, which vary widely in size.
Agriculture in Qatar Till quite recently, it was thought that Qatar's environment was not at all favourable for plantation and organic farming due to its harsh temperature during the summer months, desalinated chlorine water, poor annual rainfall and arid soil that all add up to quite the challenge of turning a desert area into a green oasis!is inherently limited in scope due to the harsh climate and lack of arable land. In spite of this, small-scale farming, nomadic herding, and fishing were the predominant means of subsistence in the region prior to the 20th century. Sea-based activities such as pearling and fishing served as the primary sources of income for Qataris until the commencement of oil drilling in 1939.
For centuries Iceland's main industries were fishing, fish processing and agriculture. In the 19th century, 70–80% of Icelanders lived by farming, but there has been a steady decline over the years and now that figure is less than 5% of the total population. It is expected that the number will continue to fall in the future. Only 1% of the total land area is under arable cultivation, confined almost exclusively to the peripheral lowland areas of the country.
Semley is a village in Sedgehill and Semley civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about 3 miles (4.8 km) north-east of Shaftesbury in neighbouring Dorset. The hamlet of Sem Hill lies about a quarter of a mile west of the village.
Dairy farming in New Zealand began from small beginnings during the early days of colonisation by Europeans. The New Zealand dairy industry is based almost exclusively on cattle, with a population of 4.92 million milking cows in the 2019-20 season. The income from dairy farming is now a major part of the New Zealand economy, becoming an NZ$13.4 billion industry by 2017.
The Forests of Mara and Mondrem were adjacent medieval forests in Cheshire, England, which in the 11th century extended to over 60 square miles (160 km2), stretching from the Mersey in the north almost to Nantwich in the south, and from the Gowy in the west to the Weaver in the east. Mara and Mondrem were a hunting forest of the Norman Earls of Chester, established soon after 1071 by the first earl, Hugh d'Avranches. They might earlier have been an Anglo-Saxon hunting forest. Game included wild boar, and red, fallow and roe deer.
The Coleman Station Historic District is located around the former New York Central Railroad Coleman's station in the Town of North East, New York, United States, a short distance south of the village of Millerton. It is a rural area including several large farms in the southeastern corner of the town. At almost three square miles (7.33 km2), it is the largest historic district entirely within Dutchess County and the second largest in the county.
Agriculture is a major industry in the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the most recent United States Census of Agriculture conducted in 2017, there were 53,157 farms in Pennsylvania, covering an area of 7,278,668 acres with an average size of 137 acres per farm. In 2016, Pennsylvania ranked first in the United States in Agaricus mushroom production, fourth in apple production, fourth in Christmas tree production, fifth in dairy sales, fifth in grape production, and seventh in winemaking.
Agriculture played a major role in the early growth of Connecticut as one of the original 13 colonies that would form the United States of America, particularly in the Connecticut River valley which provides fertile soil, temperate climate and easy access to markets. As the Industrial Revolution helped focus capital on mercantile centers in the 19th century, Connecticut farmers over time ceded their relative economic and political influence.
Agriculture in Wales has in the past been a major part of the economy of Wales, a largely rural country that forms part of the United Kingdom. Wales is mountainous and has a mild, wet climate. This results in only a small proportion of the land area being suitable for arable cropping, but grass for the grazing of livestock is present in abundance. As a proportion of the national economy, the importance of agriculture has become much reduced; a high proportion of the population now live in the towns and cities in the south of the country and tourism has become an important form of income in the countryside and on the coast. Arable cropping is limited to the flatter parts and elsewhere dairying and livestock farming predominate.
↑ Quoted in Simpson ES (1957), "The Cheshire grass-dairying region", Transactions and Papers (Institute of British Geographers), 23: 141–162 – via JSTOR
↑ Edwards P (1999), "Cheshire Cheese and Farming in the North West in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries by Charles F. Foster [Book review]", The Agricultural History Review, 47: 217–18
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