Pembrokeshire has been called "the cottage garden of Wales", due to its good soil and the beneficial effects of the Gulf Stream, which provide a mild climate and a longer growing season than other parts of the country.Davies, Gilli: A Taste of Wales, page 142. London: Pavilion Books Limited, 1995. The good climate and soil meant that the south of the peninsula was coveted by the Norsemen and Normans because it had "great plentie" of corn and cattleLockley, R.M.: The Regional Books: Pembrokeshire, pages 49-50. London: Robert Hale & Company, 1972. The county has prime agricultural land, much of which is located at about 70m above sea level, while to the north, the Preseli Hills rise to 500m above sea level and form uplands that are made up of heather and bracken, which are used for grazing sheep.Pressdee, Colin: Food Wales: A Second Helping, page 76. Cardiff: Graffeg Books, 2008. Consequently, Pembrokeshire is classed as one of the most fertile counties in Wales, with its 392,300 agricultural acres having 14% of its land classed as of good quality, 67% being classed as medium quality and 19% being classed as poor quality.Lockley, page 128 However, agricultural production is subject to market forces and in the 1890s, as a result of the Panic of 1893, a deep agricultural depression led to the area under cultivation falling by a third. Many labourers and farmers had no option but to emigrate to the New World and many of the large farming estates were sold. World War I brought prosperity again, but by the 1930s, as a result of the Great Depression, there was another agricultural depression which lasted until World War II. During the Post-war period agriculture has benefited from marketing schemes and marketing boards, which have helped in the regulation, marketing and distribution of the county's agricultural production.Lockley, page 21
Today, the county is well known for its excellent food, having capitalised on the quality of its agricultural produce. Gilli Davies notes that Fishguard is known as a mecca for the gourmet, while St Davids has developed a reputation in recent years as a centre for good food shops and Milford Haven is known for its range of local foods and delicatessen items.Davies, page 147.
Meat and poultry The Pembrokeshire coast is made up of high cliffs, large bays, small coves and estuaries backed by rolling pastures which are good for dairy farming.Davies, page 144 The interior of the county is dominated by the River Teifi and its valley of dairy and mixed farms.Pressdee, Colin: Colin Pressdee's Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 12. London: BBC Books, 1995. Sheep are kept on most farms, with the larger farms of the south of the county favouring breeds such as Clun Forest sheep, Suffolk sheep and Cheviot sheep, while in the north, the farms of the Preseli Hills are stocked with Welsh Mountain sheepLockley, page 22
Pembrokeshire also produces beefPressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery", page 100 from breeds such as Welsh Black cattle, a native cattle breed. This breed has developed, in part, from the extinct breed known as Pembroke cattle. Gilli Davies notes that, in Pembrokeshire, the Welsh Black cattle grow to a large size and are good milk producers, due to the county's rich pasture. This led to Welsh Black cattle in Pembrokeshire being recognised as a distinct race and the Welsh Black of Castlemartin, Pembrokeshire now have their own herd book. By the nineteenth century the breed had developed into two distinct strains: the smaller the North Wales variety and the bigger Castlemartin, or South Wales, type.Davies, page 144. However, R. M. Lockley noted that, by the twentieth century, the long horns and dual purpose nature of the Welsh Black made it less popular. Farm specialisation meant that the breed was substituted for specialised beef or milk breeds. Hereford (cattle) became popular for beef production while Friesian cattle were used for milk production.Lockley, pages 49-50 However, the Welsh Black has since made a comeback and is regaining in popularity, with Welsh Black meat now sold across the county at retail outlets and farm shops.
Colin Pressdee notes that Pembrokeshire is also known for its poultry, with the Pembrokeshire turkey having become as well known as Aylesbury duck.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery ", page 12 Geese were also commonly kept, with the county once having a reputation for its Michaelmas Geese, which were also known as Green Geese. These were once to be found on every farm, village green and piece of common land in the county.Lockley, page 23 Poultry, including hens, and turkeys continue to provide an important side-line to Pembrokeshire farming, especially on the medium and smaller farms
Fish The coastline of Pembrokeshire has an extensive wild fishery with small fishing fleets traditionally operating out of Fishguard, St Davids, Solva, Tenby and Milford Haven. The larger fishing trawlers operate from Milford Haven, which was recognised by Lord Nelson as "one of the greatest natural harbours in the world".Pressdee, Food Wales ", page 75 In 1890, there were 1,660 fishing vessels using Milford Haven's docks and it became one of Britain's most successful fishing ports. However, Milford Haven became less busy after World War II, although in 1950 its trawlers still landed about 5-6% of the UK's wet fish (chiefly European hake) and had the UK's fifth largest fleet. Milford Haven now acts mainly as a base for foreign-registered trawlers which export most of their catch to continental markets. The trawlers and small fishing craft bring prosperity to Milford Haven and exploit the hake-fishery of the west coast and south-west of Ireland, with herring being landed in season.Lockley, page 108 Prime fish landed at the port includes common sole, turbot, plaice, monkfish and European seabass, which fetch high prices. The smaller trawlers catch crab, lobster, crayfish, herring, whiting (merlangius), pollock and salmon, or line fish for mackerel. The old fish market at Milford Haven docks has closed but a smaller, trade only, market has opened instead. Milford Haven also has a marina and restaurants.
Fishguard harbour is the ferry port for Ireland and is a commercial centre, but according to Pressdee the wild coast from St Davids to St Brides Bay houses the best secrets of the entire coastline.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery", page 12 He considers North Pembrokeshire to be more rugged and beautiful than the south. It also has a number of fishing ports which once exported stone from the limestone and slate quarries of the area. These ports, such as Porthgain, Abereiddy, Pen Clegyr and Tresinwen now have small fleets of working craft and pleasure boats. They serve local pubs and restaurants that produce fresh seafood and farm produce and which vary with the season and tides. Pressdee cites The Harbour Lights Restaurant at Porthgain, Jemima's near Haverfordwest and Tates in Fishguard as popular examples of such places.Davies, pages 144 – 145
The winter herring industry gives large landings of fish, especially around the estuary of the River Cleddau at Llangwm, Pembrokeshire. This was once an important component of the county's inshore fishery, with the catch being made into kippers and bloater (herring) at Milford Haven's fish docks.Pressdee, Food Wales ", page 81 At Llangwm the inhabitants formerly lived exclusively by fishing cockle (bivalve)s, oysters, mussels and clams collected at low tide from the Llangwm boats, which were the modern equivalent of the British osier or coracle.Lockley, page 104
Oysters are an important shellfish crop and the principal oyster beds were found at Penna Mouth, Lawrenny, Llangwm and Milford Haven. They were once delivered by packhorse throughout South Wales. Farmed rock oysters, a Pacific species, have been used to re-stock some oyster beds, although native oysters are making a comeback around Carew, Pembrokeshire and Benton Castle at Milford Haven.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery", page 18 However, the shellfish industry has disappeared from around the Llangwm part of the coast.
Seabirds were once taken for food and, because they came from the sea and lived on fish, they were regarded as fish for religious purposes, when meat was required to be replaced with fish in the diet.Lockley, page 64
Fruit and vegetables The English built their castles across Pembrokeshire to defend the south of the county from the Welsh to the north. The boundary that developed, known as the Landsker Line, follows the January isotherm (contour line) of . Below this line the milder winters promote the growth of winter crops.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery", page 11 This means that farmers can grow new grass earlier in the year than other parts of the county.Davies, page 142 It also means that early new potatoes can become an important cash crop, subject to competition from earlier crops of potatoes imported from the Mediterranean and elsewhere.
The main crops are early potatoes, winter brassicas and root vegetables with the harvesting period being between end of October and mid-May.Davies, page 142. South Pembrokeshire is known for its root vegetables and Pressdee notes that, until recently, there were not many recipes using them, although dishes such as creamed swede have since become popular.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery", page 128 Other Pembrokeshire crops include cauliflower, asparagus and soft fruitPressdee, Food Wales ", page 76 Cauliflowers require a frost free climate when the curd is developing and the mild climate of Pembrokeshire means that it is an important local crop, with the county supplying this vegetable to national markets.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery", page 137
Central Pembrokeshire, from the River Cleddau estuary to the west coast, grows cereals for cattle, while most coastal farms are laid down to 50% arable land and with 40% under short ley farming, with 10% permanent pasture close to the farm. The arable rotation often included early potatoes, in the first and second years, sometimes with sugar beet or broccoli in the same year, when the potatoes are taken out in June, then three corn crops, the last under sown with a three-years ley, the sequence may be varied, depending on the price of early potatoes, broccoli and sugar beet. Oats are the most popular crop, followed by early potatoes, barley for seed, wheat and sugar beet.
Pembrokeshire has also produced a number of varieties of Welsh apples, including Pren Glas and Pig Aderyn. These two varieties are from St Dogmaels. Pren Glas is an early season eating apple, while Pig Aderyn is a mid-season eating apple with scarlet stripes and a top that resembles a bird's beak (pig aderyn). Two other Pembrokeshire varieties include Wern and Pigeon's Beak. Wern is an early dessert apple variety of nineteenth century origin which is good for eating and cooking. Pigeon's Beak (Pig y golomen) is said to originate from Pembrokeshire but is also found in Denbigh and Anglesey. Other apple and fruit varieties may exist and await rediscovery.
Milk, cheese and ice cream After World War I, when corn prices collapsed due to the depression, many farms moved into milk production in order to benefit from the guaranteed prices offered by the Milk Marketing Board. This suited the sheltered inland valley farms, with high rainfall, which are well suited to grass production. This led to many small farms producing milk and reducing their arable acreage. However, over-production led to the introduction of milk quotas, which had a positive side-effect, in that it led to a growth in specialist and small scale artisan cheese making in Pembrokeshire.Pressdee, Food Wales ", page 83