Long-term survival help for small Dales farms

A series of free workshops are being held in the coming months to help smaller family-run enterprises find new ways of working that can help ensure their long term survival, including in Settle, North Yorkshire.

Some 300 participating farmers based across the UK will also receive one-to-one guidance from agricultural experts as part of the Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme.

Regional co-ordinators for the scheme have been appointed to act as the main point of contact for their area, recruit local farm businesses and stage events.

Levy board organisation, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board has put forward some of its team members to act as local co-ordinators.

Richard Laverick, AHDB’s 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 know-how 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 being offered to small dairy, livestock or mixed farms in 14 selected areas of the UK.