Shropshire young farmers bailing out flood victims

Young Farmers in Shropshire have banded together to put up 10 trailers-worth of animal feed – and will deliver their haul personally to farmers in the water-logged West Country.

Last night the fleet assembled at Ludlow Livestock Market to start loading up for what will be a very long journey to Somerset.

Shropshire Young Farmers' Club (YFC) chairman Rhys Jones, 24, said they planned to set out at 5am tomorrow morning.

It was likely to be a five hour trip each way, he said, and they intended to go there and back on the same day.

"It's all been in the news and the press," he said, "If we were in the same position we'd like a bit of help.

"And we've got a lot of young lads keen to help out who like a road trip."

He said Ludlow YFC chairman Ben Sanders, of Upper Ledwyche Farm, Middleton, had raised the issue after seeing the Forageaid appeal calling for farmers around the UK to give what they can to help the desperate situation in Somerset.

The campaign involves farmers donating feed to the worst hit areas, where farmland is completely submerged.

Large parts of the Somerset Levels have been under water since before Christmas.

At the height of the flooding, the National Farmers' Union estimated that 11,500 hectares were soaked by 65 million cubic metres of water.

The long-term effects could also hit the county's farmers hard as grass and crops will have died after being under water for two months, and there are fears the standing water could even make the soil toxic for growing crops in the future.

Mr Sanders said he had organised some tractors from Brown Clee and Cleobury Mortimer, and had rung Mr Jones to see if there was a county-wide effort.

"Rhys really put it in motion," he said, "Without YFC members and local farmers we wouldn't be able to do it," he said.

"It was in the back of my mind too," Mr Jones, of Skimblescott Farm, Corve Dale, said, "and I'm county chairman so I thought I'd put the word about and see if anyone could donate anything."

The call to the county's 18 Young Farmers' Clubs was a success, he said, with the community rallying round in just a week and a half.

"We've got 10 trailers of hay, straw and silage together, and help from farming machinery companies to make sure we've got the equipment we need to get down there.

"We'll be delivering to Sedgemoor Market, which is acting as the headquarters where it's all co-ordinated from, and from there they'll direct us out to the farms ourselves, because tractors are actually more manoeuvrable than lorries.

"It's nice to be doing some good," he added.

As well as the Young Farmers' Clubs, agricultural students in Shropshire are also showing their support by organising a fodder collection and delivery campaign.

Nine students at Harper Adams University are appealing to farmers, land owners and companies to donate feed which the students will personally deliver to those requiring help.

They are asking people to drop their forage off at a designated location on Thursday.

The students will then load four trailers and drive in convoy down to Somerset.

Tom Gardner, 22, who is organising the effort, said: "It feels as though the help is starting to die down a little now despite farmers still being very much in need.

"We decided to organise this because we want to encourage people to keep helping as farmers still desperately need help. We hope that by coming together, we will be able to call on all of our contacts to secure enough fodder to fill the four trailers."

The tractors have been donated to the students by four Shropshire machinery dealerships – Ravenhill, Rea Valley, PVW Pugh and Hawk. The students have also secured various other means of sponsorship from local firms, including signs for the trailers, T-shirts from Harper Adams Students' Union and two-way radios.

Donations can be made via www.harpersu.com and sponsorship enquires can be made on the #NeedForFeed Facebook page.