Farmers’ warning over Dales future
Farming leaders have warned that an urgent review is needed in the Yorkshire Dales National Park to ensure that its vital agricultural industry does not face financial ruin and “destroy” rural communities.
THE VERY character of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and what makes it so special is at stake as the future of farming support is decided by politicians.
Neil Heseltine farms at Hill Top in Malham and is a member of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority. He runs a herd of Belted Galloway cattle and a flock of Swaledale sheep, and he has his own views about what the Dales stands to lose if the future of upland farming is poorly supported as agricultural policy is repatriated from the EU.
“There is no doubt it is a juncture and potentially things are going to change. We don’t actually know that at this stage though there are assumptions that payments will change,” he said.
“I think the concern generally is that if payments are reduced businesses are going to be threatened in the Dales. What we have tried to identify as a National Park is that any loss of farming businesses in the Dales doesn’t only mean fewer farming businesses. It is beyond doubt that it would impact on our landscapes and more importantly for me, it will impact on our communities.
“And when it starts impacting on communities, and farming families are part of those communities, it starts impacting on the character of the environment and of the individual dales, and on the schools and shops.
“The critical one is schools and the big concern for me is that the knock-on effect of that is as a young person wanting to move in from away, having a school in the dale is a critical part of that.
“Farming underpins the community but the community underpins the whole of the Dales and what it is about.”
Mr Heseltine, who lives and grew up in Malhamdale, said: “I have an affinity with that dale and a friendly rivalry with other communities in the dale and that’s what being in the Malhamdale community is to me. That’s been a massive part of my upbringing and the thought of losing that is a big part of my thoughts.”
A group of farmers in the Dales are trialling a payments by environmental results scheme, which Mr Heseltine believes can drive the mindset of farmers and could even be a model of farming support that is adopted nationally.
“We need to be bold in what we do. We have to be willing to accept change and willing to drive change to a large extent. Farmers fully understand what’s going on in the business and know they have to take actions.”