In November, sisters Fran Robinson and Hannah Blakey, who farm near Ripon, helped to save a young bull and herd of cows from drowning in the River Ure. It has been a difficult 2020 for the rural economy, as Fran reflects on the farming year.

Being born into a farming family with livestock to look after, the animals have always come first.

From being toddlers, Hannah and I have happy memories of cold Christmas Day mornings, watching the cattle and sheep being fed and bedded.

Today, as has been the case for the three years since we started running our own farm, it will be us doing the feeding, mucking out and providing fresh bedding.

Our Texel Mule sheep and lambs, Limousin, Simmental and Belted Galloway cattle and Quincy the bull, will be checked and fed before we open our presents.

A lovely addition for us this year has been five Valais Blacknose lambs – a rare breed that we look forward to showing next summer, if covid restrictions allow. They came from Switzerland and are called Hettie, Hannah, Hyacinth, Honor and Hollie.

There’s no question that this has been a difficult and unpredictable year for farmers across the Harrogate district, with extremes of weather, covid-19 and uncertainty over Brexit.

For us, Brexit could have an effect on exporting lambs and the price of them. It could mean tariffs, which would reduce what we get. However, we remain hopeful.

Farming sisters Fran Robinson and Hannah Blakey with some of their cattle

In the wider farming community across the Harrogate district, arable farmers producing vegetables had a very wet start to the year and flooded fields reduced yields and made life difficult, even before the coronavirus crisis caused additional problems.

Fortunately, Hannah and I were able to keep our animals safe and fed away from the sodden ground and they have thrived

We had a good lambing time from April to May and it was all systems go with Hannah clipping her first 300 sheep.

The very hot weather in spring and summer meant we had to ensure that our sheep were as fly-free as possible and treated accordingly.

Read more:

• Nidd farming sisters save bull from drowning
• Harrogate district farmers fearful of post-Brexit future

Perhaps one positive thing that has emerged from the coronavirus crisis has been the need for communities to pull together and look after each other.

As farmers, we are part of the community, and the message that people should support local producers has never been more important.

It’s not only good for the local economy, but reduced road and air miles are good for the environment – something Hannah and I feel strongly about as we play our part in being countryside custodians.

Masham’s artisan market is set to make a comeback.

The town’s parish council this week approved plans to bring it back after locals called for a return. The last farmer’s market was August 2019.

The market is expected to take place on the second Sunday of each month from April to September next year.

Councillors will now listen to the proposals of local traders before giving the official go ahead.

It will have stalls selling farmers’ produce as well as other items. Masham already has Wednesday and Saturday markets.

Masham’s Wednesday markets are often busy with visitors looking to buy local produce.

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Councillor Ian Johnson said:

“Yes, we have passed it for next year in the summer season. It’ll mainly be the traders who will organise it, they think they can find a few traders in farm produce and artisan items so it sounds good.

“Our Saturday market is always popular. This weekend we have about 20 stalls so hopefully the new one will be a success too.”

Farmers, other land managers and conservation staff working in Nidderdale or the wider Dales are being called on by photographers to be part of a film.

It will focus on the lives of people working rurally and how they have responded to recent challenges.

The photographers want to include rural practices such as sheepherding, lambing and dry stone walling.

Both photographers involved have won awards for their work and hope this project can be another way to show off the Yorkshire landscape and those working on it.

Gary Lawson, a videographer and photographer from Ripon, said:

“Over the next year ‘Future Talks’ will be filming farming, land management and conservation practice in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and northern hills.

“We’re looking to explore how Dales people are responding to Covid-19, climate change and Brexit, and the forthcoming changes to agriculture policy. Participants will be free to raise any issues they see as a concern.

“The final product will be a series of films offering an insight into grassroots perspectives on the future direction of land management in a changing political, economic and environmental climate.”

The photographers want to focus on those working on the land and how recent events such as covid and Brexit have affected them.

Mr Lawson is working alongside David Higgins to complete to project. It has received a grant of £10,000 from the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund.

Anyone interested should contact Gary Lawson or David Higgins on info@future-talks.com