A COMPANY which offers advice and support to farmers has decided to move from the North East and continue to build its business from its South Lakeland office.

SAC (Scottish Agricultural College) Consulting said the decision comes in response to changes within the north of England’s agricultural industry, which means the company no longer believes its present base in Wooler, Northumberland, provides the best location needed for continued growth south.

Since 2008 SAC Consulting has been delivering support to farmers across the North East of England from Wooler Auction Mart.

Over the years, SAC’s technical skills have been recognised and the pull south has been increasing, culminating in the establishment of a second office in the J36 Rural Auction Centre at Crooklands.

The Wooler office will close at the end of this month but the local SAC Consulting team will continue in its current form, with the aim to grow in the future.

Regional manager Neil Carter said: “This move maintains all existing staff members and extends our coverage, which takes in our St Boswells office in the Scottish Borders, through to Hexham and down to Kendal.

"This plan will therefore broaden the geographic coverage of SAC Consulting, which should open up our services to a wider audience.”

Over the years SAC Consulting has become established as one of the main providers of agricultural and rural support in the north of England.

Work has ranged from one-to-one farmer consultancy through to partnership work on large regional projects, most notably the Animal Health Planning project delivered under Livestock North West, which received national praise for its impact.

"I believe the move will have a positive impact on existing clients and help enhance the service for new ones," said Mr Carter.

"More recently much of our activity has focussed on our highly successful training company Fieldfare Associates, which is based in Kendal and is one more reason we will be focussing our activity there."