Environment and land-based industries employ:

• Approximately 1 million employees plus a further 500,000 volunteers. 

In 2007 agriculture accounted for 2,748 businesses in Suffolk. In 2009 just over 10,000 people were employed in agricultural labour in Suffolk. Almost half of the agricultural land in Suffolk is used for cereal crop farming, the majority being wheat but also barley.

Pig farming is also important for Suffolk, in 2009 there were 414,000 pigs in the County. 20% of the UK's outdoor reared port originates from Suffolk.

Poultry is important too. In 2009 there were 7.4 million poultry in Suffolk.

The sector is undergoing a lot of change and areas like farming will see a drop in the number of people employed but jobs in other areas like horticulture and care for the environment are expected to increase.

The number of people employed in the sector as a whole is expected to decline in the future – but the decline will mainly be in the number of unskilled workers.

There is a lack of people with business and marketing skills in the agricultural sector.