Photo: Richard Jones, Smeaton Farm
Farms' technology takeup levels hailed a "runaway success"
This week sees the 500th farm in Cornwall to be connected to broadband and receive support from actnow, the pioneering project driving growth of broadband and IT in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The 500th farm is Goviley Farm at Tregony, a 212-acre dairy farm owned by Carolyn and David Michell. Carolyn says: 'We are setting up a new dairy complex and we expect broadband to help us in a whole number of ways.'
Led by Cornwall Enterprise, actnow provides financial support and advice to help farm businesses connect to broadband and grants of up to 40% for IT improvements, thanks to funding from the South West of England Regional Development Agency as part of the Rural Renaissance initiative.
Nigel Ashcroft, actnow Project Director, says: 'We are having runaway success in supporting the Cornish farming community to take up broadband. We want our farmers to increase their profitability by making the most of what broadband can offer. If the farming community in Cornwall exploit broadband ahead of farmers in other regions, it will give Cornwall a competitive edge'
Richard and Jill Savage run a 325-acre mixed farm, which is currently being converted to organic, along with a self-catering holiday business at the farm and award-winning tearooms. Located north of Bude at Morwenstow, Rectory Farm is off the beaten track and their new website has helped boost business.
'Broadband has been excellent for us', says Richard. 'We are now starting to sell our own meat through the website. Thanks to actnow, we now have a state of the art computer system and we also use farming-specific software: Farmit 3000 and Shearwell. These are great and have made it much easier to keep on top of all the farm administration!
'We also use the Internet for research all the time now. Broadband is so fast that it is our first port of call when we need to check anything related to the farm. It must save us hours compared with any other method.
'Broadband has made a massive difference to the way we run Rectory Farm. It is helping us reach out to new customers as well as helping us streamline and simplify our internal systems and administration. So now we have more time to focus on building a really successful business.'
Meanwhile, at Smeaton Farm in Pillaton, near Saltash, Richard and Sarah Jones have set up an eCommerce website, with £1000 of funding from actnow.
Richard says: 'As well as selling our produce online, the website is used to promote the Farmhouse B&B. I would say that all our business is now generated online.'
With advice from actnow, Smeaton Farm has also installed wireless broadband. 'It is brilliant!' says Richard. 'We can now offer B&B guests wireless broadband connection in their rooms, which is an extra selling point for us. Broadband has helped us get our new venture off to a flying start and we are looking forward to the future with confidence.'
John Berry, Managing Director of Cornwall Enterprise, says: 'We are delighted that actnow has hit this milestone of 500 farmers now using broadband. When we set out, we thought that farmers would be difficult to convince of the benefits, but in fact, the community is really embracing the opportunity presented by broadband. Farmers can see how it can help them build their business.'
Bill Holliday , Manager of the Rural Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Partnership, who support actnow's funding for farms, adds: 'The takeup of broadband and IT by farms is really encouraging and shows great progress towards our goal of developing a dynamic and sustainable rural economy.'
If you run a farm or a smallholding in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and would like information on how actnow could help you, call 0800 800 935, email info@actnowcornwall.co.uk, or visit www.actnowcornwall.co.uk
