HERE is the weekly column Farming Diary column written by Rachel Bagshaw, Associate Director & Head of Land Agency, South Lakes.

I was at the Westmorland County Show last week with the H&H team.

This two-day event is a great celebration of farming and rural enterprise.

I am always impressed with the passion and commitment of those showing and competing.

It was good to catch up with some familiar faces and meet lots of new people.

The event was well attended both days, despite the rain on the second day.

On the first night of the Show, I had the pleasure of attending the Cumbria Farm Business Awards in aid of The Addington Fund. H&H Land & Estates sponsored the Best Woman in Agriculture category, and I was honoured to be one of the judges for this.

During the last month I visited the finalists, who were three exceptional women following very different careers but all equally inspiring in their ambition, drive, and courage.

Choosing a winner was extremely difficult but Caroline Grindrod stood out. Caroline has combined her passion for agriculture and the environment, creating three interconnected businesses around the concept of regenerative agricultural systems.

She is pioneering new methods of managing land holistically, working with nature to protect resources whilst farming in an economically sustainable way and achieving the farmer’s objectives, a win-win.

Her coaching and consultancy work has the potential to change agriculture as we know it, not only in the UK but internationally.

There is no doubt that agriculture is changing.

The Basic Payment Scheme is leaving and the new schemes, like the Sustainable Farming Incentive and Local Nature Recovery Schemes, are geared strongly towards environmental benefit.

As this season’s harvest draws to a close, we anticipate increasing interest from farmers in how these schemes might work for their business.