The 333-acre farm in Little Stainton, near Darlington, has been in Ms Wise's family since 1881 and she has experienced first-hand the difficulties that face the industry.

Despite being close to retirement, her father, Mike, still runs the business, while Ms Wise, 25, a fifth generation farmer, dedicates her time to the Red Meat Industry Forum (RMIF), where she is a project manager.

In only a few years, Ms Wise has played a vital role in transforming the way many farmers run their businesses, helping to set up a network where sharing best practice holds the key to success, and even survival.

She said: "The average income for a farmer is about £6,000, so many struggle to hire workers and instead become one-man bands. Farmers tend to be very insular and don't communicate well. Therefore, problems are never shared, but tackled alone.

"Farmers are basically working at break-even at the moment. For us to be able to be profitable in the long-term, we need to look at ways of helping farmers increase their profit margins."

The RMIF was formed in 2001 in the aftermath of the foot-and-mouth outbreak, when farming as a business had reached its lowest ebb. Its aim was to improve competitiveness and profitability in the livestock and red meat industry. It concentrates on improving the efficiency and sustainability of the supply chain - taking the cost out of the production and processing sectors and communicating customer needs to focus on producing the right product.

Its role has become increasingly important as farm subsidies have been gradually phased out in favour of the Single Farm Payment (SFP) scheme, which came into affect in January.

Farmers in each EU country receive payments and market support under the Common Agricultural Policy (Cap). That was established in 1962 by the Common Market to ensure that food reached consumers at reasonable prices, a decent standard of living was maintained for farmers, and productivity was increased through the promotion of technical progress. It was also hoped that the plan would stabilise markets.

The recent reform of the Cap has resulted in a radical change to EU farming policy, with farmers no longer receiving support based on what they produce and in what quantities.

The reform has broken the link between production and subsidies, and farmers are now encouraged to undertake production decisions on the basis of market conditions.

Before the reform, for example, the subsidy paid to farmers who owned cattle was determined by how large the herd was. Now, they are paid a lump sum, the size of which is determined by how much grassland they have.

In England, the SFP will initially be based largely on each farmer's previous subsidy receipts, but will move to a flat-rate payment during a transition period of eight years.

The reform of the system was intended to make farmers more market-focused and simplify the application arrangements for subsidies by replacing ten major Cap payment schemes with one single payment.

Ms Wise, who read politics at university, was given the job of on-farm project manager - a national role leading a team of six regional staff. Her team concentrates on "pre-farm gate", focusing on the primary producer - the farmer - and looking at ways to improve competitiveness and increase productivity.

"My team works to empower farmers to maximise efficiency in order to increase profitability. This must mean selling our livestock for a higher price but, in addition, the RMIF helps farmers focus on increasing bottom-line results through innovation. That means taking a step back from our own farms to compare and contrast ourselves with others," she said.

The first steps the RMIF took to generate healthy competition was to establish a system of benchmarking, where farms are rated on their physical and financial performance against other farms based on data supplied confidentially and free-of-charge by members to the RMIF's website.

The system offers producers accurate and up-to-the-minute analysis of performance measures. The analysis identifies savings and enables farmers to make decisions that will drive down costs and improve long-term sustainability.

"Just as people look at how their football teams are doing in the league table, benchmarking allows farmers to see how they rate in comparison to other farms locally, regionally and nationally," said Ms Wise.

There are more than 1,200 benchmarkers listed online. By March next year, Ms Wise expects more than 2,000 people to be using the system.

She has already applied the theory to her own farm. "We knew we needed to make big changes to our sheep flock," she said.

"We knew in our minds where the problem was, but having it pointed out in the benchmarking system, seeing it in black and white, made us do something about it. We all know where the gaps are, but sometimes it takes somebody else to look at it from the outside to make you do something about it."

By last year, the benchmarking system was firmly established and Ms Wise's aim within the RMIF shifted to focus on bringing farmers together in a social setting. Her aim was to give them a forum where they could help teach each other the tools to improve their businesses.

So far, she has helped set up 29 clubs nationwide, with another 43 under development.

By next year, she expects there to be more than 100 clubs.

"We have set up business clubs right across the country, where farmers meet maybe eight or ten times a year to discuss who is doing well, who isn't, and why.

"The clubs provide a framework of expertise and support by bringing farmers together to exchange and challenge each others ideas, as well as to compare their physical and financial performance on the benchmarking system.

"In essence, it is about creating a network where farmers come together to solve each others problems. As farming is often a solitary profession, the clubs have been valuable in bringing farmers together in a support network in which they share best practice.

"One offer of help is worth a thousand words of advice and our business clubs are offering farmers practical help. By coming together, the farming community will gain great strength."

An example of how the business club system works to its full potential has been seen in Barnard Castle, County Durham, where farmers complained that not enough cows were becoming pregnant.

Ms Wise said: "The Barnard Castle club had homed in on this problem and had to look further afield to get help. We organised a trip to York to visit a farm where success rates at getting cows pregnant were high. The members were able to talk to the farmer and learn about the process of artificial insemination that he used."

Apart from farmers, other businesses are involved with the clubs, including feed companies, such as Carrs Billington, marketing groups, accountants and land agents, including Strutt Parker, and abattoirs.

An independent survey found that two-thirds of RMIF business club members agree that the club system and support had helped them to make big changes in the way they managed their livestock business.

Yet, while the principle behind the benchmarking system and business clubs seems straightforward, Ms Wise admits that it is going to take time to convince everyone that a problem shared is, indeed, a problem halved.

"My father needed some convincing in the beginning. When I joined the RMIF, he was the biggest sceptic I knew," she said.

"But he has seen first-hand how the benchmarking system can help farmers and is now a keen member of the Barnard Castle club, which is proving to be a success story for many.

"Farming has now entered a new era in which a complete understanding of costs of production and of the market place is essential.

"The RMIF business clubs mean help is available in this period of change. We share the same aims - a profitable and sustainable future for livestock farming."

For more details, visit www.redmeatindustryforum.org.uk