More Shropshire farmers need financial help

A deep malaise has set in among the county's farmers who fear bad weather, tuberculosis among cattle and day-to-day running costs will see problems spiral this year. Dairy farmer Andrew Bebb today revealed the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution has been inundated with requests for help throughout a miserable winter. Mr Bebb, whose farm is in Hanwood, near Shrewsbury, said: "The phone has been busy, we put people in touch with the RABI and we were getting one new case each week. "A lot of problems are weather related and there is a lot of depression around because of poor returns." John Brown, chairman of Shropshire Rural Support Network, warned the outlook was bleak for the immediate future. He claimed farmers who were struggling to make ends meet would not see any improvement until the spring at the earliest. Mr Brown, who farms near Wem, said "We haven't got to the end of the winter yet, if it is a nice early spring everyone will heave a sigh of relief but if it is cold, wet and late that is when the problems will really start. "There is a lot of TB coming in so people can't move cows. It is very serious and is getting quite bad in pockets around Market Drayton and then from below Shrewsbury down into Herefordshire. "The RABI has supported a number of elderly farmers over the years. But during foot and mouth the focus changed and now a lot more farming families are getting help." It comes after officials at the RABI revealed £111,466 was handed out to 67 farmers in Shropshire during 2012 to pay for funeral costs and utilities and council tax arrears.