A FINE NIGHT FOR FORGOTTEN LANDS FARMERS

The Northern Borderland of Cumbria is a rich and remote farming hinterland between the coastal plain and the rising uplands further inland. As far back as the 13^th Century, this area was known as the Debatable Lands, fought over many times by the clans of England and Scotland.

For all its wild beauty and farming provenance centred around scattered communities living in villages and hamlets well off the beaten track, the area has received little in terms of government support or recognition. In more recent times this area has been christened “The Forgotten Lands” which thereby tells a tale.

The Farmer Network, a not-for-profit support organisation for farmers and their families, began to look for funding that might help the farming communities in this area overcome challenges and seek opportunities to work together, help their businesses and in doing so, help themselves.

Working with funding from DEFRA, The National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund and Cumbria Community Foundation, The Network began to introduce projects which included environmental improvements to the land, soil health, and habitats for ground nesting birds and other species. The projects brought the farming communities together and from gentle beginnings the Forgotten Lands group has gone from strength to strength.

Last week with funding support from DEFRA Farmer Welfare Fund, The Farmer Network organised as a social evening for the farmers to get together, without agenda, just to chat and enjoy each other’s company.

Host farmers Julius Deane and Gill Houston welcomed members of the group on a fine night to Rigg House Farm, Kirklinton and supplied a delicious barbeque including their home-made sausages and burgers. 36 farmers and their families attended the evening, to share post-lambing stories and look positively to the future.

Farmer Network Coordinator Peter Faulder said “We have achieved a lot together as a group over the last few years and gone from a position where farmers occasionally met at the auction, a wedding or a funeral, to now working together, sharing knowledge and learning new skills all of which benefit the farm business and the natural environment. It is great to get together this evening just to have a chat and some inevitable farmers banter. This is important”.

Farmer Network Management Council Chair David Watson who farms at Parceltown near Longtown said “Our group is bringing the lowlands and the uplands together and is about farmers helping each other. We cannot pretend it’s all rosy in the farmyard at the moment but being together as a group is definitely helping”.

Farmer Network Managing Director Adam Day says “Our rural communities, our farms and our people are vital to food production, the landscapes and the local economy. The time has come that this remote but important part of Cumbria is remembered and appreciated rather than forgotten”.