Young farmers 'the driving force'

Shropshire's young farmers are the driving forces behind an upturn in fortunes for Britain's agriculture industry, writes Rural Affairs Editor Nathan Rous.

Far from wallowing in the misery of soaring costs of feed and production, the next generation are ready to deliver new riches.

That was the message from Gaz Davies, chairman of Shropshire Young Farmers' Clubs, who said the challenges faced by the next generation of farmers provided untold opportunities.

"It's a time of immense change and one we are looking forward to," he said.

"The people that are in that meeting tonight are going to be the driving forces of farming in the future.

"My personal philosophy is that we will always need food and therefore, given the rising population, farming is going to become one of the most important industries on the planet."

Mr Davies said he was not daunted by the prospect of increased demand, rising costs and tough working conditions.

He said: "The younger generation of farmers are crying out for these opportunities to show how good they are. Now it's up to everyone to give them a chance.

"Farming has been dogged with tradition and a lot of the farmers are very set in their ways but we have to move forward if we are to retain the initiative.

"Diversification was good for a time but there are only so many farm shops you can build.

"We need to concentrate on what we do best and that's being the primary producers.

"There have been problems in the industry as everyone has seen but it's only served to make the industry stronger."

More than a hundred farmers of all ages packed the Sovereign Suite at Shrewsbury Town Football Club to listen to six speakers from a host of rural organisations talk about the importance of their futures.

Nigel Pearson, from the NFU, told the audience: "You are no longer just farmers but business people.

"There will be opportunities out there because anyone in the food chain will have an increasing value in the world community.

"The world needs bright people to deliver an environmentally sustainable food chain and there is nothing like a crisis to get the brain working at its best."