Prince hears of uphill struggle for Dales farmers
A group of upland farmers have laid bare the challenges facing the sector to the Prince of Wales during a visit to the Yorkshire Dales.
Prince William chatted to a group of farmers at Adam and Leanne Hunter's Crow Trees Farm, near Gunnerside, about their experiences in the isolated area and challenges facing the industry.
The Hunters had also invited Philip Metcalfe, 53, and his son James, 23, who run Usha Gap Farm and have diversified with a campsite, and Michael and Hannah Waggett, both 36, who run nearby Satron Farm.
Mr Hunter described how juggling the bunkhouse chores while looking after livestock had lengthened his daily list of jobs. He said: “We are doing the farming, making beds and cleaning toilets, we are doing everything.”
However, the Prince’s opening question – “Feeling good about farming at the moment?” was met with a non-committal response before Mr Hunter replied: “Uncertain. Probably the most uncertain I’ve been for a long time.”
The group highlighted the loss of funding from the Basic Payment Scheme. Mr Hunter said: “Unfortunately most farms up here now need some sort of other income to support the farm."
The prince responded: “The hard thing is you've got to be farmers, accountants, entrepreneurs, environmentalists, you've got a lot on your plate at the moment. Do you feel that pressure?”
Mr Hunter said: “We’re farmers at heart, that's what we really want to be doing. We don’t want to change the world. We want to look after this landscape.”
Philip Metcalfe added: “The reason I am sceptical is because I think we have just come out of the golden age of agriculture.”
The group emphasised to the Prince how the unique landscapes of the Yorkshire Dales are shaped and maintained by their efforts, adding they believe agriculture in the area could be wiped out due to mounting financial pressures.
The Prince appeared particuiarly interested to learn about how they managed their mental health in the remote location.
He said: "Sometimes the remoteness of the job gets forgotten about. Once you get into that rut, that isolated cycle, it's very hard to come out of it. Internally you are a bit like I've lost touch, I don't want to do that, I want to do more work and before you know it you are completely cut off."
The farmers told the Prince how they often worked at each other's farms on labour-intensive tasks such as drystone walling, went to the pub to debrief with each other after difficult days.
They added how they had launched a social media group chat which regularly featured a competition over who was having the worst day. Mr Hunter said: "In farming you sometimes think it's just you having a problem, but there's always somebody else who's having the same problem or worse.”
The Prince replied: "The fact that you are all helping each other out makes such a difference. I worry about the farmers who don't have support around them. You just get very much in the moment of your problems and can't see your way out of it."
After the Prince left for a chicken and ham pie lunch at the Farmers Arms in Muker before heading to Bainbridge to view the River Bain Hydro generator, Mr Hunter said: “He understood the area and understood a lot more than you would think.”
He said: “We are the cheapest park-keepers that the government can have. There’s no tourism here without farmers.”