Introduction

Agriculture is an important 'industry' to the Esk Valley. As well as producing food to eat, wool and leather to clothe us, the farmers over generations have shaped the landscape that we enjoy now, and continue to maintain and enhance it as each generation hands over to the next.
Anywhere you look in the Esk Valley area there is the evidence of some farmer's labours, be it the hedgerows by the side of the road, or the 'jigsaw puzzle for adults' that is the correctly built dry stone wall.
The sheep keep the the village greens neatly cropped and the moors from returning to wild scrub. Suckler cows graze the in-bye land surrounding farmsteads and produce fine quality beef for the dinner plate. Although not as lush as some areas, there are quite a few dairy farms producing milk and occasionally, where the land allows, arable crops are grown for human consumption or animal fodder.