Farming News - Still Time to Sign up for The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme
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Still Time to Sign up for The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme
The Tenant Farmers Association is encouraging all tenant farmers and other family farms to consider signing up to The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme organised by The Prince’s Countryside Fund.
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The Farm Resilience Programme offers free business skills training to family farms across the UK. Participants take part in a series of seven workshops which focus on different business skills to maximise profitability and resilience. 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.
TFA Chief Executive, George Dunn, said “This is a fantastic programme and one that many TFA members have benefited from already. There is still time to sign up to the 2019/2020 programme including in four specially convened locations for farm tenants of the National Trust.”
“Whatever the outcome of Brexit, all farm businesses 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,” said Mr Dunn.
Some tenants of the National Trust have expressed concern about the potential for their landlord to be given private information from their participation in the programme.
“The National Trust has assured the TFA it will be taking a completely hands-off approach. It is not selecting which tenants should be offered places, nor is it being provided with any confidential information about anyone who takes part. At the end of the programme, a special session will be arranged to discuss and debate future National Trust policy involving senior staff from the National Trust and the TFA. Tenants of the National Trust should not be concerned,”he concluded.