A SCHEME to help young people into farming, or run a farm-related business, is looking for recruits from the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria.

The Farmer Network runs the project with the Prince’s Trust. It is offering support to around 20 young people aged 18-30 who are passionate about setting up or developing a farming related business.

The "Explore Enterprise" programme includes a short course on the basics of business planning, one to one support from an experienced farm business adviser, and the chance to apply for a low interest loan and training grant, plus ongoing support from a volunteer business mentor.

Three sessions will be held in September and November and, if the candidates wish to progress, they are helped with a business plan and have the chance to apply for a low-interest loan of up to £25,000 from The Prince's Trust.

The scheme is unique in the UK and, over the past five years, 56 young people have benefitted with 25 taking out loans.

Thomas and Clare Noblet were among the first, securing a grant and loan in 2012. Tom had started working for Max and Jenny Burrow on a dairy and sheep farm near the Yorkshire Dales/ South Cumbria border.

They used the funding to begin a share farming agreement with Max and Jenny, which has since developed into a partnership.

Tom said: "Falling milk prices led us to look at ways of adding value to our milk and in 2015 we put in a small dairy and began to make some of our milk into cheese.

"We now make two types of cheese; both are hand-made, unpasteurised and are cloth-bound and buttered before being stored. We currently make cheese one day a week, using 500 litres of milk to make 50kg of cheese which we sell from the farm and through a small number of local shops, to which we also sell our unpasteurised (raw) milk."

He said the Explore Enterprise course had been invaluable. "Without the Farmer Network running the Prince’s Trust programme in this area, we would have been unlikely to secure loans or funding from other sources, so are grateful for all the work that goes into running it," said Tom.

Graham Smith, from near Skipton, worked for a motorsport fabrication company, using his welding skills to maintain and repair farmers’ equipment on evenings and weekends. After much deliberation, he left full time employment to become a subcontract welder.

A few months later, he joined the Farmer Network Scheme and applied for Explore Enterprise. He said: "In many respects, the advice I had was more valuable than the loan I received. I used the business plan to apply for funding and was offered a loan and grant to help me develop the business. The funds enabled me to invest in new products, new ideas and promote myself more than I could have done without it."

Tony Clifton, of Nidderdale, is not from a farming family but studied for a National Diploma in Agriculture at Bishop Burton before working on a sheep and beef farm in New Zealand.

Returning to Upper Nidderdale, he heard about the Farmer Network Low Interest Loan Programme. "At 23, I thought it sounded like a way of progressing my long-term idea of becoming a farmer in my own right," he said. "Three years on, I have a number of farmers who I work for regularly, as well as my own expanding flock of horned and mule sheep aiming to run 150 ewes by the end of the year. This flock is hopefully a step towards a farm tenancy in the long run.

"I feel that I am now well-placed to take on more grazing or look for a tenancy and I have a proven track record on paying back borrowed money. The Prince’s Trust loan process was testing, but very straightforward and I would recommend it to other young people wanting to get on and take opportunities that are just out of reach from their present circumstances."

An information session will be held at Newton Rigg College, Penrith, on Sunday, September 18. Call Kate Gascoyne on 01768 881462 or mobile 07548 934282, or email kate@thefarmernetwork.co.uk.