Cheshire and North Shropshire is an example of a rural specialised and suburban region. It is an agricultural region surrounded by large urban areas. Traditionally the area has developed specialised dairying, arable and livestock production.

Over the last twenty years there has been a concentration of specialised production in the dairy cereals and potato sectors with a steep and continuous decline of the number of farms and a growth in amalgamations. From a total of the 8500 farms in 1985 to 4545 in 2007, there is a resulting bi-polar farm structure with 47% of farms below 5 hectares. Their still remains some large landed estates. Many of the smaller farms are either agroecological, organic or horticultural and tend to serve local markets rather than national markets. There is considerable pressure on the agricultural land for planning system. There is still considerable food processing facilities in dairying and cereals, in many of the small market towns. The agricultural region is increasingly populated by exurban groups moved from cities, creating increasing demands for rural amenities spaces as well as for agricultural land for recreation purposes (especially horses). Another development is the growth of private land agencies and consultants who are giving advice to farmers about changes in agricultural and environmental policies.