The policy commission on the future of farming and food has begun its tour in earnest with two key trips to England's North West and North East.

The body, which is seeking practical solutions to the challenges faced by farming, travelled to the North West on October 25, and the North East on October 26.

Commission chairman Donald Curry seemed happy with the progress made by the body so far.

He said: 'These two visits are part of an important strand in our consultation process. We have the written submissions – already more than a thousand of them – and the stakeholder meetings that we're holding in London.

'Yesterday we visitd Teesdale, and before that we visited a very successful and innovative farm shop in Kendal and the Cumbrian Fellbred marketing initiative in Penrith.

'We've seen how good land management can preserve a unique environment, how one farm business can provide an outlet for literally dozens of other rural enterprises, and how regional branding can be used to add value to regional food.' He added that regions differ in their priorities and it is essential to understand how they fit in to the bigger picture.

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