Following a long period of consultation, it is anticipated that Cornwall Council will publish its new county farms strategy next month. In providing input to the review of the policy in Cornwall, the TFA argued that the county farms estate should be treated as a strategic public asset, with an important national and local role in creating opportunities for people to farm on their own account. However, the TFA went on to argue that the success of the service should not be judged solely by the number of new entrants. A more effective approach is to move beyond the traditional ‘conveyor belt’ model, where tenants are expected to move on, towards a ‘wheel’ model that also allows progression in situ, recognising the value that established tenants bring through their investment, community engagement and longer-term environmental delivery. The TFA also argued for a flexible strategy which supports diversification into areas such as tourism, carbon markets and biodiversity net gain, particularly as sectors like dairy face rising compliance costs and tighter margins. The TFA argued against wholesale or fire-sale disposals of land from the estate, while accepting that carefully targeted land sales for development can be justified where they unlock value that is reinvested back into the estate and, where appropriate, wider council services. Overall, the aim should be to maintain a resilient, modern county farms estate, providing farming opportunities while also delivering broader environmental, economic and public value. Watch this space for the publication of the final strategy.