Hard-pressed Yorkshire Dales farmers have been given a £25,000 grant to help them improve their businesses and make their case better heard by the public.

The grant comes from the LEADER project from the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, one of the few organisations set up to celebrate the millennium almost ten years ago which is still in operation.

The grant goes to the Yorkshire Dales Farm Network, set up to give farmers in the area access to advice and support which will benefit their business and the environment.

The project aims to increase the profitability of farm businesses, maintain a sustainable farming population and enhance the natural resource base of the Yorkshire Dales. It will also help to strengthen the voice and influence of farmers in the Yorkshire Dales and AONB areas.

On receiving the grant Chris Clark, chairman of the Yorkshire Dales Farmer Network, said, “We are very pleased with the response from farmers to the setting up of the Yorkshire Dales Farmer Network, and even more pleased to win LEADER support.”

Other projects to receive LEADER funding are: The Washburn Heritage Centre, Craven Volunteer Driver Project, Extending Practice/Celebrating Space, Settle Hydro Project and Yorkshire Dales Sustainable Communities Project, which received a massive £70k.