Prince's Trust scheme launches £1.5m programme to help family farms

The new scheme aims to give farm businesses the tools to evaluate their long-term sustainability
The new scheme aims to give farm businesses the tools to evaluate their long-term sustainability

A £1.5 million programme is aiming to give family farms the tools to build more 'viable businesses', as part of support given by the Prince's Farm Resilience Programme.

The new scheme aims to give farm businesses the tools to evaluate their long-term sustainability, enabling them to make informed business decisions about their future direction.

Building on the success of the Prince's Dairy Initiative, the new programme is open to small dairy, livestock or mixed farms. It will offer free workshops and one-to-one guidance to 300 farms across the UK.

"Family farms are at the heart of the British countryside and their health is vital for the future of our rural communities," the trust said.

"The last three years of declining farmgate prices has put an unprecedented strain on farm businesses. In response we have developed a programme of support for small family farms built on the successful delivery model of The Prince’s Dairy Initiative."

'Times have been tough'

Richard Laverick, AHDB Chief Technical Officer, said: "Times have been tough across farming sectors for some time now and exceptionally hard for smaller, family-run businesses who don’t necessarily have access to the right advice or resources for their specific situation.

"We need to give these farms the opportunity and help to focus on their businesses and give them the knowhow to make confident decisions, however tough, on the changes they need to make to ensure their business is sustainable in the long term."

The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme is offered in Ayrshire, Cambridgeshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, East Sussex, Lanarkshire, Monmouthshire, Northumberland, Powys, Shropshire, Somerset, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland.