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This report describes the ‘Farming Lives’ project, which took an in depth look at the lives of some Peak District farming families. It examines the lives of these families not only in terms of the farming business but also by taking into consideration all aspects of their livelihoods. Farming Lives began with the acknowledgement that farming livelihoods are multi-dimensional and inter-related, and therefore an impact upon one aspect of the livelihood can have repercussions within other areas. The project was built around the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) and our aim was to test effectiveness of the SLA in helping us to understand the livelihoods of the farming families that participated in the project, while also helping those families to identify opportunities for building greater resilience and sustainability into their livelihoods. If this approach is found to be effective, we think that it may be of interest to farmer groups and organisations around the country that work to support farmers through these challenging times.

Farming in the UK continues to experience challenges. The pressure to increase efficiency, whilst input costs rise and policies and support structures change, lead many farmers to question how their farms will fit into the farming sector of tomorrow. The National Farmers Network - an Oxfam partner - supports low income farmers all over the UK to improve the sustainability of their farming businesses, mainly through encouraging collaboration between farmers. This publication highlights good practice in the work of farmers with community-led support organisations around the UK.