Skipton has been chosen as only the third centre in the country to officially pioneer organic farming.

The Yorkshire Organic Centre is due to open on Thursday in Skipton Auction Mart in Gargrave Road.

It will operate over a vast area, covering the whole of Yorkshire, the Humber region and Lincolnshire.

The two other centres, founded by the Soil Association, serve Devon and Cornwall and Scotland.

Yorkshire already has an organics group which has 24 members.

The office is being funded by the Soil Association and Yorkshire Forward, the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Development Office.

The aim of the project is to increase organic food and farming activities in the region.

The staff, a technical services and development officer, will provide business support, including technical and marketing advice, and training.

Support will be available to any organic farmers, growers or processors and people wishing to start up or convert to organic production or processing.

David Hollingworth, an organic farmer from Middlesbrough and chairman of the Yorkshire Organics producer group, said: "At the moment we have a lot of farmers and processors who don't know each other.

"The Yorkshire Organic Centre will co-ordinate the organic movement in Yorkshire and Humberside and help make local products available to local people."

For the past two years, the Soil Association has chaired the Northern Organic Food Initiative (NOFI) - a forum representing the organic sector in the north of England.

Phil Stocker, the association's head of agriculture, said: "The Yorkshire Organic Centre will be a really exciting boost for organic businesses in the region.

"A feasibility study, funded by northern Regional Development Agencies, showed a real need for an organic technical and marketing support service in Yorkshire, Humberside and North Lincolnshire."