Evening Press leader

The heartache behind the farming crisis was poignantly visible at the Ampleforth auction. Among those witnessing the sell-off of the dairy herd was Ian Bell, farm manager at the Abbey. All his efforts to streamline the operation to make it pay failed. The market is so depressed that profits seem almost impossible to come by.On his first trip out of hospital after the car crash that left him seriously injured, Mr Bell bought two of his old herd. It is symbolic of the present problems in the countryside that a farmer is reduced to buying livestock as mementoes of happier days.

see also 'Ampleforth herd goes under the hammer'

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.