The Exmoor Hill Farming Network (EHFN) is celebrating its fifth anniversary this year.

The Network, which is farmer-led and independent, was established in early 2014 to improve the viability and sustainability of Exmoor farming businesses.

It does this through knowledge-transfer, peer-group support, training, and co-operation to safeguard upland farming, rural employment and landscape management.

Based at Cutcombe Market, the Network aims to be the ‘go to hub’ for the farming community. It currently supports around 300 farming businesses on Exmoor and its surrounding areas.

Read more: Exmoor farmers "need compensating for providing public services"

Since 2015 the Network has been working with conservation bodies and others to conserve Exmoor’s environment. This includes South West Water’s Headwaters of the Exe project and Natural England’s Exmoor Coastal Streams Facilitation Fund.

In its latest activities, in response to a looming Brexit, Network members came together with the National Park Authority to produce a set of proposals called Exmoor’s Ambition. This document advocates a new approach to enhancing our internationally important landscapes and the many public benefits that good farming and other land managing businesses can provide. It is designed to replace the EU’s discredited schemes with a co-ordinated set of locally delivered and accountable measures to enhance the environment, economy and public wellbeing.

Network chairman Dave Knight said: “Normally, farmers are hesitant to make the sort of changes that Exmoor’s Ambition is proposing. But because this has been a farmer-based approach, backed by the National Park Authority and the local community, we have got a groundswell of local farming support for this initiative.

"We were delighted to present our proposals to the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, last summer and to senior civil servants from London this spring and we are now working with them to test our proposals."

Another key priority for the Network has been to encourage young farmers on Exmoor. It has developed a Next Generation Group which gives younger farmers under 30 greater confidence, providing them with the space to ‘come out’ from under the shadow of older generations and form their own views. It has also provided four young people with work placement opportunities, with two already gaining local employment.

The majority of the costs of running the Network have been met by grant funding from The Prince’s Countryside Fund, Exmoor National Park Authority and North Devon Council. They also work with a range of key partners and sponsors including Masons Kings, NFU, Dunster Show Society, Exmoor Farmers and Towergate Insurance.

Read more: National Parks England calls on Government following worrying drop in agri-environment land use