Shropshire is dominated by the River Severn, which is the longest river in the UK. Farming plays an important role in the county’s economy, and over 80% of the land is given over to agriculture. Despite this dependence, Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) estimated a real-term fall in income of 28% during the year of the pandemic.
Roger Davies’ family has been working the land for generations but, when we met, he was in the process of selling his farm and renting it back until his retirement. “I’ve lived in Shropshire all my life,” he told me. “The family started farming in the late 1940s, and we’ve been on the holding ever since. We currently farm cereals, but I’m hoping to retire in the near future.”
Many changes
Roger admits he has seen many changes over the years, as both farming techniques and the machinery used have adapted to modern methods. “The farm is a lot smaller than it used to be for various reasons, but we’ve enjoyed
