A programme which offers free business skills training to family farms across the UK will close for applications in just one week's time.
The Farm Resilience Programme, organised by the Prince’s Countryside Fund, organises a series of seven workshops focusing on different business skills to maximise profitability.
Topics include business planning, understanding accounts and budgeting, managing your farmed environment, and exploring new opportunities.
Alongside this, every farm receives one-to-one on farm support to take part in a Business Health Check.
This tool looks at their strengths and weaknesses as well as benchmarking their costs against similar farms.
The Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) is encouraging farmers to sign up to the programme.
Chief Executive, George Dunn, said: “Whatever the outcome of Brexit, all farms need to look at how performance can be improved, as well as considering issues around succession, farm planning, liaising with the bank manager and looking at possible alternative enterprises.
“The programme is practical, down-to-earth and effective. People that I have spoken to who have been through the programme have said it has been of immense benefit for their businesses and their families.”
The programme will be running in the following areas in 2019 and 2020: Aberdeenshire, Carmarthenshire, Cornwall, Kent, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northern Ireland, Orkney, Shropshire South Hams and Yorkshire.
In addition, the following groups will be operating for tenants of the National Trust only: Devon and Somerset, Lake District, Llyn Peninsula/Snowdonia National Park and Peak District.
