Letter 15/04/05

WE ARE struggling to get on the rural property ladder too, but are drawing towards the end of our working lives, not the beginning. We are tenant farmers, and have been all our working lives. When we retire, we want to remain in the rural community near where we now farm, but property prices are way beyond the reach of a tenant dairy farmer especially with the very lean years of late. Cow values and quota values have certainly not kept up with property prices. So what are the options? To die with our boots on, or go and be miserable in a cheaper property in a town away from family, friends and the much-loved countryside. Cathy Sprackling