Cumbria YFC said a sad farewell to Newton Rigg College, Penrith, as its county office moved to a new home at Barbary Plains, Edenhall.
The office had been at Newton Rigg for almost 84 years, but the search for a new home began after Askham Bryan College, York, declared it was closing down the Penrith campus and selling off its assets.
Appeals for a new office site were made even as the county’s young farmers campaigned against the dismantling of Newton Rigg, and it was after one of these calls that Steve Craig, business manager for Civils Store at Barbary Plains, got in touch with the offer of office and storeroom accommodation.
Shortly before Newton Rigg finally closed its doors, the Cumbria YFC county office was packed into a horse box loaned by Robert Wharton – a strong supporter of the movement – and moved to its new home.
County YFC chief officer Joanne Mills said: “Finding a new home for Cumbria YFC during a pandemic was never going to be easy and so it proved.
“After many fruitless months, we were thrilled when Steve from Civils Store got in touch and offered us much needed space for our young farmer county office.
“Although sad to leave Newton Rigg after 84 years in residence, we are excited to be starting a new young farmer chapter.”
Steve said: “We felt that it was a good opportunity to help out an integral part of the local farming community.
“We already supply many local farmers with drainage products and we look forward to working with Cumbria YFC over the coming months to introduce our company to the next generation of Cumbrian farmers.”
The new address for Cumbria YFC is County Office, Civils Store, Barbary Plains, Edenhall, Penrith, Cumbria CA11 8SR.
The office landline will be up and running in the next couple of weeks, and the office can also be contacted at countyoffice@cumbriayfc.co.uk
