Monthly Archives: March 2011

young farmers cumbria advisory committee


Rory  held an inaugural meeting of the Young Farmers Cumbria advisory committee.

In the first meeting of its kind held in Penrith and the Border, Rory  met with a group of eleven young farmers from his constituency to discuss a wide range of issues affecting them today. The meeting, at Penrith Conservative Club, brought together a diverse group from all corners of the constituency to discuss amongst other topics the future of Newton Rigg, how to encourage young people into farming, supermarket monopolies and the difficulties of accessing affordable housing in rural areas.

Rory hopes to meet regularly with the group to discuss both local issues and national policy, and commented: “I was very, very impressed at the level of knowledge the group displayed on such a lot of issues. They have a strong sense of the local, but also of how national and international farming initiatives affect them. We also discussed lifestyle issues to do with housing, and whether we can encourage younger people into farming via the national curriculum. It was a great start to what I hope will be a frank and open conversation about how I can fight for current and future generations of farmers in Penrith and the Border.”