FARMER Simon Hare hopes he can count on lots of female support in a new business venture.

The 31-year-old bachelor, who aims to develop a sideline in yoghurt-making, is enlisting the help of some intuitive feminine taste buds.

He believes yoghurt is eaten by more women than men and says he has plenty of female friends willing to identify some winning flavours.

"I will be doing kitchen trials using different fruits and will be asking my friends to try them before I go into production," he said.

"I've plenty of friends who will be glad to do some tasting for me."

Mr Hare hopes to begin production later this year at Trees House Farm, at Brignall, near Barnard Castle, County Durham.

He has applied to Teesdale District Council for planning consent to convert a storage building to yoghurt processing and, if granted, will use some of the milk from his family's 120-strong dairy herd.

Mr Hare, who runs the farm with his father, John, has attended a yoghurt-making course in Cheshire.

He said: "I will be asking Defra (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) for a grant to get the business started, and if all goes well will start selling my yoghurt at farmers' markets in the area, as well as in some local shops."

He believes it will be the first yoghurt venture in the dale using cows' milk, though there has been another project using goat's milk.