Expert advice on the changes to farm payments is available to farmers looking to adopt nature-friendly practices in  ## free events and webinars (http://www.soilassociation.org/farmers-growers/farming-events) next month. 

The Future Farm Resilience programme sessions, funded by Defra, will be run by Soil Association farming advisors who will provide business planning advice to help farms adapt to new farm support polices.

They will offering information and tailored advice around new options in the Environmental Land Management Scheme, Sustainable Farming Incentives and Countryside Stewardship.

Any farmer can get involved, but there will be a particular focus on how organic and low input farmers can secure government incentives and cost-savings through nature-friendly farming.

Soil Association Senior Farming Advisor Jerry Alford said: “Nature-friendly farming practices are not only set to receive ongoing government funding, but they can also offer a wide range of cost-savings and provide resilience for farmers in the face of a changing climate.

“We are really pleased to be offering free support for farmers to explore not only the available funding opportunities, but also where they may be able to tweak their farming practices to benefit both nature and their bottom line.
“Farmers are facing lots of uncertainty with considerable change taking place, so we are glad to be able to help them navigate the policy changes and opportunities over the next few years.
“Every farm is different and, as expert advisors working across all types of farming systems, the Soil Association farming team is ideally placed to offer advice that is tailored to each farm’s individual circumstances.”
 

* Free events *
An arable workshop is being held from 10.30am – 3pm on Thursday 12 September at Bradwell Grove Farm, near Burford in Oxfordshire.
 
Hedges and trees will then be the focus of a session in Dorset from 10.30am – 3pm on Thursday 25 September at Wilkswood Farm. 
Online webinars will also take place across September and a livestock event is being organised for October. 
For more information and to book, visit www.soilassociation.org/farmers-growers/farming-events  (http://www.soilassociation.org/farmers-growers/farming-events) or email ffr@soilassociation.org.