Meet the Team
Adam Day
Managing Director
I have spent most of my working life as an auctioneer and land agent mostly in his home county of Cumbria. Brought up in a hill-farming community on the most Northerly edge of the Lake District, I remain a passionate advocate of the many benefits that farming brings to food production, environment, landscapes, the local economy, and community.
I joined the Farmer Network as Managing Director in 2015 on a part-time basis. As the Network has grown, the job has developed into a full-time role. I work hard to promote the Network, raising the profile of the organisation and the farming industry in general. I continue to create partnerships with other organisations and work with the Senior Management Team and Management Councils to ensure that the support offered by the Network is relevant and delivering what is needed.
Away from the Network I continue to find my garden and small allotment a perpetual challenge. I perform regularly as a singer and a musician at weekends and enjoy travelling with my wife when time allows. We have two grown-up children who live and work close-by.
Head Office Team
Donna Gough
Senior Operations Manager
I have had an employed role with the Farmer Network since July 2011, initially being Office Manager before taking up my current role as Senior Operations Manager. As part of the Senior Management team, I oversee the Head Office team and company budgets. I also have responsibility for monitoring member benefits, putting the quarterly newsletter together and managing the Cumbria Farmer Network social media.
Outside of work, I have a keen interest in farming and can regularly be found helping on with the sheep on my parents’ farm. Much of April each year is taken as holiday for lambing time.
Angela Chappelhow
Office Supervisor
I started working part time for The Farmer Network back in 2011 and now take the role of Office Supervisor. I work with the team at the Network planning events, fuel ordering and anything else in between.
The rest of my working week is spent working on my parent’s dairy farm where I live with my partner Dean and two young boys.
Laura Baker
Administrative Assistant
I started working for The Farmer Network in March 2022 as an admin assistant. I deal with fuel orders, memberships, and general admin.
When I am not in work I am usually out helping with the sheep on the family farm, with my little boy.
Melanie Mawson
Finance Officer
I have worked for The Farmer Network since 2010 as the Finance Officer. My duties include all the financial aspects of the company, from paying and raising invoices to assisting with claims from our funders. I also provide office support when needed. I normally work 2-3 days per week, based in the office. I live near Penrith with my husband and two grown up daughters.
Project Managers
Veronica Waller
Senior Project Manager
Veronica is our Senior Project Manager and has worked for the Farmer Network since October 2010. Her previous roles have included working as an NFU Policy Adviser in Cumbria and as a grants officer for the Leader Programme. She is our grants specialist and her role includes applying for funding, managing the work of coordinators delivering projects, providing members with advice on grants and writing our weekly ENews and quarterly newsletters. Unlike most of our team, she does not come from a farming background and started life in London - but hasn’t been back for over 35 years so possibly could be considered an honorary northerner!
Kate Gascoyne
Project Manager
I have a background in farming and livestock, and I live on a smallholding with beautiful sandy loam soil in the East Fellside of the Eden Valley producing eggs and beef and growing fruit and veg.
I have worked with farmers for the whole of my career and for the Network for 15 years, organising getting farmers together in response to what they want. This is usually looking at reliable ways to reduce inputs and improve the health and productivity of soil, grassland, (including herbal leys) and livestock. I feel privileged to have organised our programmes supporting the next generation. We have a lot of very keen and talented young people who just need access to land and a bit of help to get their businesses going!
I have recently been more involved in environmental and landscape projects through the Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership and East of Eden Nature Recovery projects in my local area. We have had FiPL funding to bring farming and environmental organisation people together to try to improve understanding and learning both ways and appreciate what farmers are doing to support nature alongside producing food, which I hope will become more useful to all involved in the future.
Working with the fantastic and dedicated Farmer Network team is always great and helping to publish the Farming on the Fellside book to encourage kids and their parents to appreciate and understand farming life has been one of the highlights.
Helen Bullock
Northumberland Project Manager
I joined The Farmer Network in July 2023 as Project Manager for Northumberland. Since then, I have worked alongside my colleague Rachael Graham to successfully establish the network across the county, with more exciting developments ahead.
No two days are the same at The Farmer Network. My role involves everything from planning and delivering events to engaging directly with farmers and working in partnership with a wide range of organisations.
With agriculture undergoing major changes and growing uncertainty due to evolving government policies, I believe our support is more important than ever.
I am a farmer’s daughter from the North Tyne Valley, where my family breeds Galloway and White Shorthorn cattle, along with Cheviot and Blackface sheep on a 400-hectare upland farm.
Outside of work, I enjoy country pursuits—especially taking my cocker spaniel beating—as well as hiking and running with him, as well as taxi service for my daughter.
Ruth Dalton
Project Manager
Ruth farms pedigree cattle and goats with her husband near Kendal. She’s a self-employed farm advisor and enjoys working with the Farmer Network team on a variety of projects on a freelance basis. Recently she’s been involved with sheep and cattle health projects and helps to run discussion groups in Staveley and Grizebeck.
Ruth also helps farmers navigate the complexity of Defra schemes. She enjoys talking to farmers about managing grassland for profit and biodiversity, and she’s a big fan of native breeds.
Carol Moffat
Project Manager & Coordinator
I have worked for the Farmer Network for thirteen years; I started working two days per week as a self-employed Farm Coordinator covering the same areas I do today, which are the Western and Northern Yorkshire Dales and Southeast Cumbria. My role is varied with no two days being the same. My role includes organising meetings and training for farmers, helping and advising on current schemes, grants and support available to farmers and managing projects. I enjoy getting out and about meeting farmers, meeting with different organisations and collaborative working.
The Farmer Network is very flexible and will always fit in around my two children, home life and my farm business. I always think that if I am busy on the farm, other farmers will be too.
I farm in partnership with my parents in Garsdale where we lamb about 520 Swaledale sheep, Bluefaced Leicester’s and Mule sheep breeding our own replacements our main stay is breeding the North of England Mule Gimmer, which we have done for over 40 years. I live in Sedbergh with my husband who is a builder and our two children. Our daughter is a keen farmer, going to vet college in September and our son is currently an apprentice bricklayer, following in the footsteps of the Moffat family.
Outside of work I enjoy attending Agricultural shows, cooking, going out for meals and socialising with friends and family… which always involves drinking wine!
Farm Coordinators
Vicky Slater
West Cumbria Coordinator
I joined the Farmer Network team around 5 years ago as a Cumbria Coordinator, working particularly in the South and West Cumbria. Within that role I have spent time coordinating meetings and workshops across the area, covering a range of topics.
Outside of the Farmer Network I am a partner on our family's beef and sheep Hill farm on Cold Fell. We also host around 45 school visits each year through the educational access programme, encouraging schools to come out onto the farm and learn about farming and the environment. We also have 2 Glamping pods open to tourism.
I also work with the West Lakeland CIC as a coordinator for the farmer led group. This has included lots of up skilling through training for Mapping environmental assets on Landsapp, working with Mergin maps and working with the Carbon Farm Toolkit, to do carbon audits.
Peter Faulder
Forgotten Lands Facilitator
I am the coordinator for the Forgotten Lands group, in the far north of Cumbria. The group was established at the beginning of 2020. I organise a series of workshops on a wide range of farming topics throughout the year. Over the spring, summer and autumn the events are held on-farm and during the winter months we hire a room at a local pub. The group has gradually expanded over the years, which is good to see.
I am a FACTS and BASIS soil and water qualified and also work as an independent adviser. Much of my advisory work is on Natural England’s Catchment Sensitive Farming programme in soil husbandry, water, infrastructure auditing, nutrient planning and soil sampling.
I grew up on a farm in the Dalston area, near Carlisle and worked there regularly before going to college. Having a strong attachment to farming means I still return to help out when required.
Kate Chester
Cumbria Coordinator
I have been one of the Farmer Networks coordinators for the last 3.5 years and love working with the team supporting our farmers. It is full of variety from organising training, events and meetings, to working with farmers as well as working in head office.
I am a farmer’s daughter from just outside Cockermouth in West Cumbria. I studied Animal Care and then Agriculture at Newton Rigg college and worked from leaving school at our local Veterinary practice until my daughter was born.
Outside of work, I am kept busy with my two children which can be anything from farming tasks, attending agriculture shows, sporting competitions such as rugby football, Cumberland wrestling and netball to everything in young farmers. We also enjoy exploring the lakes with paddle boards and spending time catching up with family and friends.
Sarah Fleetwood
Yorkshire Dales Coordinator
I started working for The Farmer Network as Coordinator in the Yorkshire Dales in 2022. I live in Nidderdale on a small family beef and sheep farm with my partner Simon and seven children! The children are aged between 4 and 21 with the older three away studying or travelling and the younger four all helping at home!
We produce pure bred commercial Suffolk and Texel tups, as well as fat lambs and finished cattle. Last year we started rearing a few calves which is great for the children to be involved with.
My life revolves around farming, and I love being able to help farmers with paperwork, record keeping and grant applications. Farming can be a lonely life, and I am grateful to be able to work in our local community, bringing groups together and providing social opportunities. I enjoy spending time with my family, going to the auction and days out at agricultural shows.
Rachael Graham
Northumberland Farm Coordinator
I began my role with the farmer network in June 2023 helping to develop the Northumberland Farmer Network alongside my colleague Helen. I am a farmer’s daughter from near Lanercost between Brampton and Haltwhistle, where we farm suckler cows, Limousin X, and breeding sheep Texel x Beltex at Miller Hill Farm. I live at home currently and when not working for the Farmer Network I work on the farm.
When I left school I studied a two-year Agriculture diploma course at the former Newton Rigg College, which I thoroughly enjoyed and met some great friends through this, whilst learning everything from the soil up through the different farming systems.
I like to show my commercial cattle at local shows in the lead up to Christmas Fatstock sales, I have done well in my young handlers winning at the Agri Expo, Highland Show and lots more. I enjoy working closely with lots of farmers and businesses across Northumberland, running many different events particularly the Next Generation Programme. When I am not working I enjoy going skiing and meeting up with friends.
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