Academy is a fresh start for Cambridgeshire farming

Cambridgeshire is now a focal point for budding rural entrepreneurs and farmers with the launch of the Cambridgeshire Fresh Start Academy on Thursday, 4 December 2008 at 7.00 pm at the College of West Anglia in Milton.

The Academy will be part of a successful national network of colleges and groups which teach young people the business skills needed to get ahead into today’s rural enterprises. The classes involve three elements - business skills training, mentoring and the possibility of identifying business opportunities via a match-making network.

Training is delivered through a series of 12 workshops and is followed up with continuing contact via a club structure enabling graduates to stay in touch. The workshops cover diverse topics such as marketing, business planning, IT skills, applying for tenancies, diversification and staff management. The scheme is backed by Defra, local professionals and educators.

Ewan Delany, Academy coordinator said: "I would encourage anyone wanting to get into farming or, indeed, newly established farmers thinking about their future business to come along to the launch and find out what the academy can do for them. "

Defra Farming Minister, Jane Kennedy said: "These academies have gone from strength to strength, and the new Cambridge Fresh Start will help young people throughout the region to become the rural entrepreneurs of the future. Defra has always strongly backed the Fresh Start initiative - good training and business skills are a must for the new generation of rural business people."

Among the speakers at the launch will be well-known local farmer Oliver Walston and William Woodward, a young farming entrepreneur, who will talk about his experiences. Kerrie and William Woodward left the comfort of their office jobs in Cambridge to return home to the family farm in Winwick, near Huntingdon, grow and produce a range of food.