A CLERGYMAN has urged his rural congregation to buy local and help the crisis--stricken farming industry.

The Rev David Ashforth, vicar of St Leonard's Parish Church, Balderstone, issued the plea in the latest edition of the parish magazine.

His message came as rural protesters gathered outside the Labour party conference in Bournemouth to highlight the countryside crisis.

Mr Ashforth said: "It's a rare farmer who sees a profit from all his or her hard work, let alone making a living out of it.

"This time the farmers are not just moaning; the 'For Sale' signs outside dozens of farms in the Ribble Valley tells us the pain is real.

"When the coal mines went bust, there were impassioned speeches in the House of Commons and bishops wrote strong articles in the national press about preserving the character of mining communities.

"The distress of the farming industry has hardly produced a squeak."

Mr Ashforth added that most of his congregation would not be physically involved in food production, so they needed to be imaginatively involved with the harvest and the people who made it happen.

He said: "It would cheer farmers enormously if we let them know we recognise the demanding work they do, and that we appreciate their efforts in working this year for next to nothing, sometimes less than nothing, in order to keep the land in cultivation and the shops supplied.

"I fill my freezer from local farmers at a fair price. What are you going to do?"

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