Farm appeal needs £1.4m by April or land will be sold

Babbinswood Organic Farm has been in the same family for five generations

A fundraising effort to create a community-owned farm has to raise £1,449,000 by the end of the month, or the land it wants will be sold on the open market.

The Babbinswood Farm Community Benefit Society was established last year to buy part of Babbinswood Organic Farm, near Whittington in Shropshire.

If successful, it would rent the farm back to the current farmers, but only £51,000 has been raised so far, through a share issue, grants and other fundraising.

Casha Bowles-Jones, who farms there with her husband Adam, said although time was running out, she believed "miracles are possible".

She explained the land at the farm had to be sold because of a family break-up.

The society aims to buy up to 117 acres, including native woodland and buildings and hold it as a "community benefit society".

Ms Bowles-Jones said: "They will then become our landlord and our hopes are the family can then rent it back so we can continue stewarding the land organically."

The farm currently has a farm shop, holds open days and film nights and teaches people to grow food in a community garden.

She said if she is able to carry on running the farm she would introduce more community initiatives like that, including a farm-friendly dog walk.

Ms Bowles-Jones is the fifth generation to farm at Babbinswood and she said despite the daunting fundraising target "we have to maintain a positive outlook".

She said she drew inspiration from a similar appeal, 20 years ago, to turn Fordhall Farm near Market Drayton into a community-owned farm.

Daisy Kirtley, one of the directors at Babbinswood Community Benefit Society, said: "£1.5 million means every single inch of that farm is safe from property development or industrialised farming."

She said if that target could not be reached, the society had alternative plans in place, if it is able to meet its minimum target of £800,000.