Page 67 - Discovery Guide

Forest of Bowland
Farmer Group
Forest of Bowland National Landscape
The Forest of Bowland National Landscape has established a local farmer group which aims to act as a contact group between the National Landscape team and farmers across
the area. It’s a useful way to deliver more area-specific information to Bowland farmers and offers support through on-farm events and regular newsletters to update them on environmental policy and the changes to the farm payments system currently underway.
A number of themed, farmer-led events exploring nature-friendly farming, regenerative agriculture and natural flood management have been hosted over the last year and the feedback from participants has been extremely positive.
The group is free to join and open to anyone farming in the Forest of Bowland National Landscape and, in its first
year, membership has grown three- fold, with over 90 individual farms now signed up. Its popularity has centred
on the relevance and social aspects of the events as well as the content of the newsletters.
The network builds on a similar project connecting farmers through the Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership and is run by Nichola Gill, who farms with her husband and family in Sabden.
“Farmers tend to be really busy people and they don’t always have the time to keep on top of the latest schemes and grants that might be open to them,” said Nichola.
“The farmer group is a way for farmers
to keep in touch and allows the National Landscape team to highlight their latest projects and raise awareness of the financial support and advice that is out there.
It is hoped that the extension of the
FiPL programme will enable the group to continue for another year with further events and training sessions covering a wide range of subjects and we are really keen for farmers to sign up and take part.”
Further details about the FiPL programme, including a list of all the successful projects, can be found on our website here:
www.forestofbowland.com/ farming-protected-landscapes
67