Editor’s Note: With one-third of Chester County land focused on agriculture production its easy to understand why agriculture continues to be the county’s number one industry.  This new weekly Chester County Ag Notes column by Duncan Allison will shine a spotlight on the successes and challenges of agriculture and live stock production on the fringe of the nations fifth largest city.

By Duncan Allison

Since colonial days the early settlers in Chester County appreciated the well distributed rainfall and some of the best soil in the country allowing them to grow a very wide range of crops. This has not changed and in fact there is an even wider range of crops and farming enterprises today.

Corn for feeding dairy cattle and other livestock, soybeans for processing in to oil and protein feed for livestock and pets as rotation crop for corn, wheat to supply local food companies, and hay are the basic field crops. Most of the hay is produced for the compost needed by mushroom producers. The top quality hay goes to the large number of horse owners in the county as hay must comprise the main part of horse diet.

We still have 280 dairies producing enough milk for all Chester County residents and many other people in surrounding states. Amish farmers play a major role in our dairy industry and are investing in more farms. Several dairies are producing a wide range of cheeses which are available at farmers markets, retails stores and restaurants and are being submitted at state shows and winning awards.

Our large equine segment includes several top thoroughbred breeders, eventers and a wide range of “backyard” horse owners. The many horse events in the country attract many participants and visitors, including the biggest three day horse show in the nation – the Devon Horse Show.

Wine lovers are beginning to realize there are some excellent local wineries as viticulturists in all parts of the country find our soil and climate – terroir – can produce red and white wines that can compete with Napa Valley and France.

Our green industry, comprising plant nurseries and garden maintenance companies, include several top class nurseries that ship their trees and plants across much of the country. Large and small garden maintenance outfits keep busy looking after our yards and public spaces during the growing season.

Any visit to the many farmers markets, farm shops and stands in Chester County and Oxford Product Auction offers proof of the wide range of fresh vegetables, fruit, honey and farm products that are produced by local farmers mostly on relatively small farms.

Check out the Chester County Farm Guide to find comprehensive map and details of retail outlets for farm produce in Chester County.

There are certainly also several livestock farms producing top quality beef and a few poultry, duck and turkey units.

We have large and small farms, conventional and organic producers and a combination of Amish and what are commonly known as English farms. 96 percent of our farms are family farms often going back many generations. Their families have been committed to their farms and so are anxious to do their best to sustain them for the next and subsequent generations.

There is strength in diversity but there needs to be a critical mass to maintain the infrastructure that provides the many products and services that farms need, particularly for the production of mushrooms, field crops, equine and dairy.

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Duncan Allison gained degrees in horticulture and extension education in the UK and US and spent most of his career working for the DuPont Company developing and marketing crop protection chemicals. Recently he has written reports for a global ag publisher and for New Jersey-based international business consultants Kline & Co. For the last 16 years he has been heavily involved in the local farming of Chester County where he has lived with his wife and family since 1980.