Faith

The ARC Addington Fund, set up in 2001 during the Foot and Mouth outbreak by Canon Richard Addington, aims to help the farming community cope during hardship.

This church fund now concentrates its efforts on housing and does more work in Dorset than any other county in the UK, despite being based in Warwickshire.

Director Ian Bell explains that if you're a tenant and you lose your farming business, you also lose your home.

He says: "It could be the result of a suicide, it could be bereavement, it could be illness - it could be 101 things!"

"We will try and buy a house to keep them [in the area] where they want to be.

"They can rent it from us, they can do shared equity - whichever way they want to do [it] - and when they've finished with it, we sell it.

"As far as the general public is concerned, nobody knows we're involved, because we want to give that family their pride, their dignity.

"In an ideal world, we just want everyone to think they've retired."

Powerstock Mill Farm open for Rogation gathering

Church support & Rogation

Once identified, the farming families in need of help are also supported by local ministers and clergy.

Reverend Elaine Marsh works closely with the fund and is playing host to a Rogation gathering, to help raise awareness of the work of the fund, at her farm in West Milton, Bridport, in May.

Rogation Days are four very important days in the Christian calendar, used mainly in rural areas to bless the crops and the fields.

Adapted from Roman pagan beliefs, they traditionally begin with a Major Rogation on 25 April, to coincide with St. Mark's Day.

The Minor Rogations take place during the three days proceeding Ascension Day [Ascension Day marks the last appearance of Jesus to the disciples, after his resurrection at Easter - which is forty days after Easter Sunday. This is when He ascended into Heaven].

Cows in the Caribbean?

Elaine has been married to a farmer for over 30 years and has been a priest for the past year.

She says: "Rogation is one of the services that starts off the growing year in the church - the care of the land and the care of the animals.

"It was very important in the old days, because it was the beginning of new life. Whereas these days it's still important, but to far fewer people, because so many people have no idea what goes on, on the land.

"I think people simply cannot understand that people [farmers] work 16 to 18 hour days, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

"We've been asked - "Where are you going for Christmas?", and we say "Oh! We're taking the cows to the Caribbean!"

Tough times

Elaine admits that working on a farm can be very difficult and that she and her husband have had their fair share of sleepless nights.

"You have to make do and mend. You remember what your mother taught you, and your grandmothers, about making ends meet.

"In the very hard times, as in the good times, you've always got your faith.

"You know that no matter how bad it is, you're not alone [and] you're going to be alright. It'll work out in the end, because it always does."

Ian Bell, Director of the ARC Addington Fund

God's creation

Ian also believes that there's a strong link between farming and faith.

"I think the critical word is "creation" - because [as a farmer] you work with creation.

"We know scientifically why crops grow and how a cow produces a calf, but there's still something quite magical about it.

"And I think that draws you closer to your faith - closer to God."

Proud

However, Elaine explains that this doesn't mean that farmers should carry on without support.

She says: "As a curate in four parishes, I know who all the farmers are and the ones where there is potential of great difficulty, [particularly] when it comes to retiring.

"I sort of keep them up one sleeve and the Addington Fund up the other sleeve, knowing that perhaps one day I shall be able to connect the two and something will come from it.

"But you can't go barging in there, because they are very independent people."

Ian adds: "One of the reasons we're doing the Rogation gathering is to try and raise awareness, because the people we need to help won't come and ask for help. People don't want to be seen as failing.

"I always say we have the perfect cold calling card and it's called a dog collar, because Elaine can go to a house in the village, she can knock on a door and what's wrong with that? That is just part of village life.

"The Elaines of this world are key to what we do."

A tractor at Powerstock Mill Farm, West Milton

Decline

Elaine is saddened by the decline of farming in Dorset.

She says: "When my husband came here [to West Milton] 50 years ago, there were 11 people that had dairies in the village and now he's the only one left.

"I don't think that this can continue - this system of the farmers all having to leave and the countryside being left to very rich people, who use it as a playground when they feel like it, when they've not got anything else to do.

"They don't want the weeds, they want beautiful fields, they want beautiful countryside to look at, but they don't seem to care about who has to do it."

"Everybody needs feeding"

Does this mean that farming is coming to an end in Dorset?

Elaine says: "It will never come to an end, because everybody needs feeding.

"And one day it won't be coming from the other ends of the Earth - it won't be possible."

Ian can't see an end to farming either, not even in the current economic downturn.

He says: "Farming's had a credit crunch for the last 10 years. We've been under pressure from low output costs and increasing inputs."

Speaking from a farmer's point of view he adds: "If you've wanted to keep going, you've had to adapt.

"We've done the belt tightening and reviewing the business, we did that five years ago, I mean that's why a lot of small dairy herds in Dorset have disappeared, because it just wasn't viable.

"We've done that bit and now we probably sit better than any other industry to weather the next two or three years."

Reverend Elaine Marsh, alongside Reverend Jean Coates, will play host to the ARC Addington Fund's Rogation Gathering at Powerstock Mill Farm, in West Milton, Bridport, on Friday 29 May, starting at 6pm.