Welcome to the East of England Region’s web page
Over 75% of the land in the East of England is used for Farming. Our counties include Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk and provide a wealth of countryside activities and places to visit.
Crops
The region is best known for its cereal crops and is often referred to as ‘Britain’s breadbasket’ - with farmers growing more than a quarter of England's wheat and barley. The East is a major region for horticulture as well, cultivating everything from peas and beans to apples, strawberries, salad crops, flowers and shrubs. Farmers in East Anglia also harvest more than half the country's entire sugar beet crop - mainly in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. And almost a third of England's potato crop is grown here.
Animals
Britain's pig and poultry farms are centred largely on East Anglia - not surprisingly as so much of the grain needed for animal feed is grown here. Laying hens produce about 2.2 million eggs every day and our region's farmers supply a quarter of England's table chicken. We also have the second largest number of pigs in England, 1.2 million animals on around 1500 farms. Our sheep, beef and dairy herds are small compared with other regions but they are important to the farming 'balance' of the region and their grazing plays a vital role in looking after the landscape.
Employment
Farming is at the centre of a £3 billion food and food processing industry in East Anglia. Almost 55,000 people work directly in farming, and many more jobs depend on it.
Countryside
East Anglia's beautiful countryside has been shaped by generations of farming, and farmers continue to play a key role in looking after it. There are 45,000 hectares of woodland on East Anglian farms, enough to cover a city the size of Cambridge five times over!
What’s happening near you?
Contact us or look on the megamap to find out what is happening near you!