The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme launched for second year
September 1, 2017
The Prince’s Countryside Fund is inviting 300 more small farm businesses to take part in the second year of the highly successful The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme.
The programme will take place in 15 new locations throughout the UK, including the Isle of Arran, the Durham Dales and Gloucestershire. Applications to take part open on September 1 and close on October 31.
Proven to help small farms improve their way of working, and created through the vision of HRH The Prince of Wales, the charity’s Patron, the initiative will provide free business support and one-to-one guidance to 300 small and medium sized family farm businesses across the UK.
The programme is intended to equip them with the tools they need to evaluate their viability and long-term sustainability as well as supporting them to make key decisions about the future direction of their business.
Farmers who completed the first year of the programme have said they feel much more confident about the future of their business. Richard, a farmer in Northumberland, said: “I’d definitely recommend the programme to others. It provides a series great debates and discussion. Hearing the ways other people ran their farms was fantastic, and with help from The Prince’s Countryside Fund we’ve now established our own local network, which is great as farming can be so isolating.”
Liz and Bob, who farm in Cornwall, agreed: “Everything keeps changing, the paperwork involved and other things. There’s always something to learn from other people, whether that’s our peers in farming, or the consultants and professionals who lead the programme.”
This is the second year of the £1.5 million, five-year initiative to help tackle some of the biggest challenges being faced by small farm businesses across the UK, as part of the Fund’s aim to improve the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life.
Claire Saunders, director of the Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “We are thrilled to be bringing The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme to more locations this year, building on the excellent response to its first year.
The skills training and expert advice provided by the programme help farmers to cope with the many challenges that their businesses face, and allow them to plan for the future more confidently. I’d encourage family farmers to make the most of this programme.”
Click here for full details of the programme, dates, and contact details for the regional coordinators.
