£1.5 m rescue package deal underway as household faces shedding its farming heritage

A mom and daughter farming household in Shropshire are dealing with the devastating prospect of shedding their five-generation heritage except a £1.5 million rescue package deal may be secured.

Barbara Jones and her daughter, Casha Bowles-Jones, of Babbinswood Farm close to Oswestry, shall be pressured to promote the 176-acre natural farm if the funds are usually not raised by March thirty first.

A devoted crew of supporters has launched a marketing campaign to save lots of the farm, proposing to put 116 acres into group possession. The newly fashioned Babbinswood Farm Neighborhood Profit Society (CBS) is spearheading the hassle, providing non-profit group shares from simply £50, alongside searching for donations and grants.

The household’s plight started with a divorce settlement in 2020, which compelled Barbara Jones to take out a mortgage to retain possession. Hovering land costs, pushed by tax loopholes and growth potential, meant solely costly short-term financing was out there, leaving them in a precarious monetary place.

“We all know that it is a big mountain to climb,” mentioned Casha Bowles-Jones. “However we and the group profit society are obsessed with saving the farm, sharing what we’ve got right here with the group and changing into stewards of the land for future generations.”

The CBS goals to buy the land and lease it again to Barbara and Casha on a 100-year lease, permitting them to proceed their natural and regenerative farming practices. Babbinswood Farm is notable for its ‘cow-calf dairy’ system, a observe they intend to keep up. Additionally they run a farm store and group backyard.

Past meals manufacturing, the CBS envisions Babbinswood Farm as a hub for nature-linked group actions, together with volunteer days, farm trails, and academic occasions. The group share mannequin will give members of the general public a stake within the farm’s future.

“Individuals are obsessed with saving Babbinswood Farm and its natural and holistic farming strategies that care for his or her animals and shield soils, its rivers and biodiversity and its wider group advantages,” mentioned Barbara Jones.

The Babbinswood Farm CBS attracts inspiration from the profitable Fordhall Neighborhood Land Initiative, which grew to become England’s first community-owned farm in 2006. Charlotte Hollins, who led the Fordhall marketing campaign and is now an advisor to Babbinswood, believes the share mannequin can work once more.

“The shareholders grew to become our 8,000 group landlords in a single day and it’s led to all of the superb modifications which have made Fordhall into the unimaginable, profitable, family-friendly centre it’s in the present day,” mentioned Hollins.

Daisy Kirtley, a Babbinswood Farm CBS board member, urged the general public to assist the marketing campaign. “If you need extra land safe within the fingers of the area people, please think about shopping for a share, donating, or spreading the phrase,” she mentioned. “No extra household farms misplaced to massive agribusiness or builders. We wish a long-lasting legacy of protected countryside, meals safety, and robust communities as an alternative.”

For extra data see babbinswoodfarmcbs.org.uk.