JUNE 30, 2009: Smallholders and farmers have a new website where they can barter products.

The website, www.FarmersBarter.com, is being described as an Ebay for farmers – without the money. It has been set up by has been set up by Eldred Curwen, a small landowner in Cumbria, an airline pilot and a JP. Eldred said: “This has come about as a result of my observations of the turmoil in the agriculture industry during the past two to three years. “It has always been a fact that locally many farmers traditionally shared labour at times of intense workload, and more recently have begun to ‘trade’ either their produce or their labour in a more pro-active fashion. “All aspects of the agricultural industry are accommodated, whether it is alive, dead, butchered, harvested or ready for retail sale. Labour and machinery are two of the most valuable assets anyone has to offer, and both can be idle when they really should be working. “Barter is the oldest form of reward for one’s hard work. Farmer’s Barter widens the area of contact of local bartering communities by helping farmers and smallholders to broaden their circle of acquaintences, helping them to search for items, or to barter items within a larger geographical area.”