Photo: Mayor David Skaith on a recent farm visit near York.
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has announced a major overhaul of the Combined Authority’s farming support programme to make an expert advisory panel.
The change, which was approved at a Combined Authority meeting today, comes after a report commissioned by the Mayor found that more than half of the 7,000 commercial farms in the region are not making sustainable levels of profit.
It found that farmers are battling with market volatility, climate change impacts and policy changes.
Since its establishment in 2019, Grow Yorkshire has funded more than 100 audits and tests on farms, developed special interest groups and training programmes but the Mayor’s report highlighted an urgent need for further intervention.
David Skaith, Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, said:
“Our farmers are the backbone of York and North Yorkshire, but with more than half of farms currently making unsustainable profits, we cannot afford to stand still.
“Grow Yorkshire has already been so important at speaking up for farmers, today we’ve strengthened their role, giving a stronger voice to those who know farming and rural communities best.
“Rural communities can’t just survive, they have to thrive and be at the centre of telling us how to achieve this.”
The new format for Grow Yorkshire will mean that the initiative can focus on implementing national recommendations to ensure that more farms make a sustainable profit, backing new farming methods to reduce their impact on the environment and removing barriers to training and support the wellbeing of farmers.
Partners who work with us on Grow Yorkshire include regional and national organisations that represent farming including the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).
Harriet Ranson, CLA Director North, said:
“The CLA has been an active participant since Grow Yorkshire was first established, and we welcome Mayor David Skaith’s recognition of its importance and growing it’s brief to that of an Expert Advisory Panel to support his amibitions for the rural sector.
“The CLA is always ready and willing to represent our farmers and rural businesses within local government fora to ensure they implement policies that are fit for purpose, that stimulate farm profitability and wider rural economic growth. We thank David for his continued support and recognition of the importance of the rural economy to York and North Yorkshire’s prosperity.”