10,000 Internet Farmers wanted to run a real farm – This is NOT Farmville

Wimpole Estate, Cambridgeshire. Map shows some of the 280 hectares of rolling fields.

The National Trust is asking the public to help run a real-life working farm via the web.

In return for a £30 annual subscription, 10,000 people will take control of the farm on the Wimpole Estate in Cambridgeshire.

Have your say on big decisions
Because Wimpole is a real farm, the decisions that have to be made are real, and they have real consequences. But, as in life and in any other business, there is no one right answer in farming, and we need some fresh ideas – yours! The first vote will be a big one: what should we grow on the farm?

See it for yourself – visit Wimpole for free
This is an online project, but it’s not Farmville. There’s a real farm here, and to really understand it, we’re sure you’ll want to see it for yourself. Wimpole Farm and the whole Wimpole Estate make a great day out, so when you sign up we’ll give you a free ticket.

Do I get any food?
Not yet! Wimpole is just finishing organic conversion, which means we’ve not really grown anything for the last two years. But it also means you’re as close to a clean slate as we can give you for a project like this – that’s part of why we chose Wimpole. And of course, you decide what we do, so you never know what the future holds!

Do I own a share of the farm?
Your £30 makes you a Farmer until 30 April 2012. This funds the MyFarm team, the website and gives you the right to vote and have input, but the National Trust keeps ownership of the farm itself. This is because we’re keeping the farming costs separate from the project at first – we wanted to keep the cost down, and not put you at too much risk. But let us know what you think – it might change in the future!

See their website here.