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This blog post was published under the 2015-2024 Conservative Administration

https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2022/01/14/more-time-for-farmers-to-apply-for-free-business-advice/

More time for farmers to apply for free business advice

Posted by: , Posted on: - Categories: Transition support
Dyer's greenweed and resting cattle Genista tinctoria
Copyright Natural England/Chris Gomersall

To support farmers through the agricultural transition, we’re offering free business advice to those who currently receive direct payments. 

Through the Future Farming Resilience Fund, we’re paying independent advisers to explain how the changes happening to farming will affect farmers and help them to prepare.  

In total, 19 providers across England are offering the advice. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, the fund is structured in 3 phases. We are currently in the second phase. It was due to end in March 2022, but we’re extending this phase until September 2022. 

We appreciate that 2021’s late harvest made it difficult for farmers to apply in time and take up was slower than expected. 

So, we’ve offered all our providers an extension of up to 6 months, which is when the next phase of support is expected to begin. 

This will give providers more time to deliver the support. The new end dates for each of the projects are set out in the table below.

We hope this extension will encourage more people to get in touch with an adviser and work out the best plan for their farms.  The final phase of support will operate over a longer timescale; launching later in 2022 and running until March 2025.  

Get free advice  

If you’d like to access free business advice, all you need to do is take a look at the list of advisers below and contact them directly.  

The advisers are offering support in different ways: it could be delivered in the form of workshops supported by experts or through one-to-one conversations.  

Organisation  Contact  Phone  Coverage  Sector  End date 
ADAS  resilience@adas.co.uk  03301 755839  England  Any sector  31 May 2022 
AHDB  FarmBusinessReview@ahdb.org.uk  0247 5189300  England  Grazing livestock & Cereals  31 August 2022 
Berrys  will.davies@berrys.uk.com  07469858749  Shropshire, Staffordshire, Cheshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Warwickshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Leicestershire, Derbyshire.  No particular sector  31 July 2022 
 
Brown & Co  defraffr@brown-co.com  01480 598875  Hertfordshire, Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire, Humber, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Bucks, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire, Essex, Kent, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset.  Targeting all farmers and farm types including arable, livestock, mixed and roots.  30 June 2022 
Bury Beet Group  jamiegwatkin@btinernet.com  01284386111  Suffolk and Norfolk  Arable and sugar beet  31 March 2022 
Ceres Rural   sebastian.murray@ceresrural.co.uk george.badger@ceresrural.co.uk  01865790790  Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk, Kent, Sussex, Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, Surrey and Norfolk.  Arable  30 April 2022 
Devon County Council  linda.wilson@devon.gov.uk  charlotte.molyneux@devon.gov.uk  01392383000  Devon and Somerset  No particular sector  31 May 2022 
DJM Consulting  helen@theruralbusiness.co.uk  01746714089  Shropshire, West Midlands, South Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Derbyshire, Northamptonshire, Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire  No particular sector  31 August 2022 
JH Agri Consultancy  jhadwin@jhagriconsultancy.co.uk  07739176667  Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cheshire, Northumberland  Livestock  31 August 2022 
Kite Consulting  jennie.moore@kiteconsulting.com  01902854797  England  Dairy  31 August 2022 
Landworkers Alliance  jyoti.fernandes@landworkersalliance.org.uk  07875849754  England  Horticulture, dairy, SME meat, mixed farming  31 March 2022 
Laurence Gould Partnership  keith@laurencegould.com  07968412052  Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surry, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset, Wiltshire, Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Berkshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, Northumberland, Cumbria, Durham  No particular sector  31 August 2022 
M B Hodgson & Son Limited  kathryn@nwauctions.co.uk  01539566222  Cumbria, North Lancashire, North Yorkshire  Livestock  31 August 2022 
Natural Enterprise  graham.biss@naturalenterprise.co.uk  01983296244  Isle of Wight  No particular sector  30 April 2022 
NIAB  elizabeth.stockdale@niab.com  07957966802  Wessex and Cotswolds  Arable  1 March 2022 
Promar International  sandra.callwood@genusplc.com  07971 118688  England  Dairy, Beef and Sheep  31 May 2022 
Ricardo-AEA Ltd  ffrf@ricardo.com  01235 753530  England  No particular sector  30 June 2022 
SRUC  neil.carter@sac.co.uk  07825 781347  England  Any sector  31 August 2022 
The Prince's Countryside Fund  project@countrysidefund.org.uk  07551848892  Cumbria, Yorkshire, Lancashire, Northumberland, Durham Dales, Peak District, Dartmoor, Exmoor, Lincolnshire, Herefordshire, Cornwall. There will also be a virtual group.  Dairy, Beef and Sheep  30 April 2022 

Video: Farmers share their experience 

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