New exhibition spotlights the pivotal role of women in upland farming
A home-grown exhibition has opened in Lancashire, celebrating the pivotal role women play in the success of family farms in the remote uplands of the Forest of Bowland.
‘Empowering Women: Champions of Upland Farming’ is a collection of portraits and interviews which capture the essence of life on upland family farms in remote rural areas like the Forest of Bowland.
Dedicated to women in farming around the world, the exhibition has been curated by Tarja Wilson, from the Forest of Bowland National Landscape Partnership, who has worked with farming communities for more than 30 years.
The portraits are accompanied by snippets of recorded interviews with female farmers and a soundscape recorded and arranged by local artist Rob St John as part of his ‘Are You Lost?’ project. ‘Are You Lost?’ is part of the nationwide National Landscapes Association ‘Nature Calling’ outdoor community arts programme. Rob has featured some of the recording in his latest ‘Are You Lost?” podcast.
The exhibition opened at Clitheroe Castle Museum on June 6 and will tour various locations across the Forest of Bowland during the summer – with a showcase finale at the Hodder Valley Show in September.
Tarja was inspired to create the exhibition after meeting dozens of strong independent women who play an essential role in the family farms they work on. The exhibition features portraits, interviews and recordings from the Forest of Bowland made by Tarja herself on location at more than a dozen farms across the National Landscape.
Tarja’s project recently attracted the attention of the BBC’s Countryfile programme, who visited the Forest of Bowland to interview her about the project.
The women portrayed in the exhibition live and breathe family farm life in the Forest of Bowland and play a pivotal role in the future of farming at a time of sweeping changes in the agricultural sector.
The exhibition focuses on women like Sarah Whitwell, who runs a 185-acre mixed dairy and sheep farm with husband Graham on the edge of the picture postcard village of Waddington. And despite working in an utterly idyllic location, Sarah doesn’t sugar-coat the reality of life of a family farm.
“When it’s pitch-black and hailing sideways at 4.30am on a February morning and you’ve got to go and find a ewe who’s struggling to deliver, then make sure you’re back to get the kids up and give them breakfast, before taking them to school and maybe grabbing a bite to eat – and then your day job starts – you do sometimes ask yourself why you put yourself through it.
Sarah is as happy checking the cattle on her quad as she is delivering milk before dawn and as well as looking after two young children, she works as a part-time agri-environment adviser. Her salaried income supplements the earnings from the farm, but it means Sarah works seven days most weeks.
“This year, as well as the sheep and the milk round, we’re establishing our own beef herd to mix the grazing up a bit. We’ve got some rough land up on the fell which we think the new herd will thrive on. They’re pedigree shorthorns – a specialist north country breed which are pretty hardy and will thrive on the rougher grazing.
“But it’s not just about the farming, it’s about the environment and the landscape, too. Our sheep will graze everything down to a lawn, but cattle like shorthorns are more selective and leave a better sward structure after grazing. This creates a much better habitat for farmland birds like the curlew and snipe.”
Posted
18th June 2025
in News