Fylde farmer takes the lead for the county

Colin Bradley, who grows potatoes on 1500 acres of land spread over three counties, takes over from upland sheep farmer John Taylor of Lots House Farm in Lancaster.

Colin, 61, whose home farm is Stanley Villa in Weeton said creating a profitable industry for the next generation of Lancashire farmers will be his aim.

He said: “Social media is so powerful and by using it to their advantage the next generation of farmers can do far better in business than my generation has.

“Young people need to be helped onto the business ladder and for that reason I’ll be championing farm business tenancies, share farm options and limited liability partnerships. There are people out there with money and land who need the energy and skill sets that our young people have. It’s the NFU’s role to bring these two sets of people together.”

He started as a dairy farmer but when quotas were introduced he sold the cows and started growing potatoes, becoming a major producer for McCain.