(Left): Rachel Ellis-Jones, Principal, Northumberland College

(Right): Clare Wise, Project Manager, Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF)

at Northumberland College's Kirkley Hall campus

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"Northumberland College are proud to be launching an exciting competition to create a five year business plan for our farm at the Kirkley Hall campus. As the main provider of agricultural education and training in Northumberland it is important that we are pro-active in ensuring sustainability for the future of farming in the communities of Northumberland. This will include learning to farm without the Single Farm Payment, sharing best practice, working with the community and developing partnerships to reduce food miles and maintain profitability. This will bring benefits for all people living in Northumberland in having a profitable, forward thinking farming industry"

"September sees the start of the Year of Food and Farming, and the competition will help the College highlight the message of the future of farming to young and old in our region. We will lead the way in best practice by finding ways of diversifying and changing current practices in order to stay ahead of competition and respond to changes in government funding for agriculture. The knowledge gained will be passed down to our students and shared with the Northumberland farming community. Kirkley Hall needs to reinstate its place as the regions premier land based institution, forward looking, innovative and supportive of the communities we serve."

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