By Andrea Meanwell, farming officer, the Lake District National Park Authority:

THE new farming year will have an explosive start on November 5 when our tups are released amongst the ewes in preparation for lambing from April 1.

In these uncertain times, farmers must carry on as usual and with optimism despite the uncertainty surrounding future trade deals and the Coronavirus pandemic. Whatever happens, our nation will need to eat and farmers in Cumbria are very skilled at producing food from a low-input extensive system.

I have been visiting farmers in the Upper Derwent catchment for the last few weeks, discussing with them the way in which they provide public goods on their land. During the new lockdown I will begin to write up these land management plans as part of our Environmental Land Management scheme test.

I will also look at information from our partner organisations, such as Natural England and the Forestry Commission, to see what opportunities there might be for farmers to enhance the public goods they currently provide. All this information will be passed to the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs for it to consider. It is a real opportunity for the voices of farmers in Cumbria to be heard by those who are designing our future policy.

We are also busy at the national park authority writing the next management plan for the Lake District. This includes three key challenges that are interlinked: climate change, nature recovery and the future of farming.

We have been talking to farmers about their opinions on how these three challenges can be met throughout the process, and the plan will go out to public consultation before it is finalised. It will hopefully be supported by our Heritage Horizons lottery funding bid. As ever, we have been beavering away behind the scenes trying to help farming’s future in the Lake District.

It was also great for me to get off the farm and away from the computer screen this week to visit the Luke Fair at Kirkby Stephen and buy myself a pen of Swaledale gimmer lambs. This fair received its charter from King Edward III in 1353, and is a good illustration of the longevity of Cumbrian farming.