NFU award contender profiled
8 January 2002
NFU award contender profiled
By Adrienne Francis
NORTH of England Farming Woman of the Year, Doreen Forsyth is profiled in The Times 2 magazine ahead of what the paper calls “the farming Oscars”.
Final judging of the National Farmers Unions Presidents Awards 2002 is expected to be completed by the end of the week.
The winners will be named and presented with their awards at the NFU AGM dinner in London on 6 February.
Mrs Forsyth, 58, from Warkworth, Newcastle previously farmed 150 dairy cattle before establishing a farm shop.
The story titled A Midlife Triumph, includes three large photos of the village, Mrs Forsyths farm shop and scone-making.
Opened in August, her business employs six people, but Mrs Forsyth also has a full-time job with an Irish manufacturer.
She says customers really do want to buy traceable, home-produced products, like her 3.5lb “solid meat” game pie.
“It seems that we have unleashed a monster, because we are so busy.
“I was sure that if we could do this well and managed to get people to call to the shop, they would come back again.”
Couples such as the Forsyths are often told to diversify by “patronising MPs and civil servants cocooned in Westminster,” the paper says.
It goes on to describe the couples diversification as a “business somersault in middle-age.”
- Farmers let down by planners, FWi, 21 November, 2001
- Free advice to help farmers diversify, FWi, 25 October, 2001
- Free planning help for English, FWi, 13 September, 2001
- Farm diversification freed up, FWi, 29 March, 2001
- NFU award winners named, FWi, 7 February, 2001