Yorkshire Dales Farmer Network

The Farmer Network expanded into the Yorkshire Dales in 2010 following requests from farmers in the area and with support from the National Park. It was set up with the help of funding from the Leader programme and most of our members are from the Yorkshire Dales National Park and Nidderdale National Landscape.

The Yorkshire Dales and Nidderdale have been farmed for thousands of years. The grazing of livestock in these uplands has shaped the distinctive landscape of fields dissected by drystone-walls, hay meadows, isolated field barns and moorland with important populations of wading birds on the upland pastures. It is home to iconic native sheep breeds including the Swaledale, mother of the North of England Mule, and locally important breeds such as the Dalesbred.