Lead Partner: Voluntary Action Cumbria
Description
‘Hill farming in the north of England’ is an action research project delivered by Viv Lewis on behalf of Voluntary Action Cumbria. This three-year project began in July 2006. The project will use community development approaches to encourage hill farmers in three northern National Parks (Lake District, North York Moors and Yorkshire Dales) to articulate their concerns and find solutions that will enable them to continue and reinvigorate their occupations and livelihood. At the same time the project will work with young people to develop activities that attract, create and retain suitably skilled and knowledgeable young people who wish to take up hill farming. Collaboration will also be sought with National Park staff, representatives from the National Farmers’ Union and other staff in relevant agencies.
The aim is to use shared ideas and resources to build up a collaborative network of hill farmers and advisers to gather robust evidence that demonstrates the value of hill farmers’ contribution to bio-diversity, landscape, public amenity and public access, and cultural heritage. Using this evidence the aim is to influence policy makers’ knowledge, understanding and attitudes towards hill farming.
What's going on in hill farming?
Four approaches are being utalised:
Tapping in to existing local farming events to gently research and probe current concerns among hill farming communities.
Creating new events to encourage hill farmers to make connections, learn from each other and discuss common areas of concern both now and in the immediate future.
- Working with hill farmer advocates who are respected amongst their peers and have good local knowledge and contacts. Six hill farmer advocates have been identified and they are collecting evidence and information about the social, economic and environmental sustainability of hill farming as a land management system in their area.
- Establishing groups of hill farmers (e.g. in the Yorkshire Dales) to look at their opportunities under the Rural Development Programme for England and the LEADER approach within it.
Identifying and motivating young people?
Hill farmer advocates, farm visits, National Park staff and other contacts are being used to create registers of interested young people in the three areas of study. in the plans are:
- A programme of fact-finding missions via visits to other hill farming areas in the north of England
- A bursary programme for 6 young people to visit and carry out enquiries in other hill farming areas further a field
- Explore the ‘Fresh Start’ initiative/approach in the north of England hill farming sector. For instance in the North York Moors where support is being given to the development of an apprenticeship programme
Communicating findings and influencing policy?
This will be done by:
- involving working hill farmers alongside members of Defra’s Upland Land Management Advisory Panel and National Park advisory groups with the visits programme and the delivery of the project.
- distributing reports of activities and findings to advisers, lobbyists and policy makers as well as our participants.
- organising meetings with politicians and senior civil servants as the action research unfolds.
- Establishing farmer focus groups to prepare evidence for the Commission on Rural Communities Inquiry into the Future of Upland Communities
Contact Details
Viv Lewis
Voluntary Action Cumbria
The Old Stables
Redhills
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 0DT
01768 868617
Website: http://www.cumbriahillfarming.org.uk