Need help with a business plan, advice about a new covered yard, your livestock or land, or guidance to identify any issues which might be preventing your business from operating as efficiently and profitably as possible?
Are you a farmer or forester anxiously waiting to see how your business will be affected when we finally leave the EU? Or are you taking control of your destiny, taking steps to prepare your business for whatever lies ahead?
Farming Connect is urging all farm and forestry business to apply for specialist advice that will help them increase efficiency and boost profits. An additional cash injection of £1,875 million will ensure continuation of the Advisory Service for eligible businesses registered with Farming Connect between now and August 2022, when the current Farming Connect programme ends.
Eirwen Williams, director of rural programmes with Menter a Busnes, which alongside Lantra Wales, delivers Farming Connect on behalf of the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, said the recent announcement of additional funding means that eligible businesses can apply for confidential advice, tailored to their needs, to help them operate at peak performance across all areas of working.
“Our industry is facing a time of unprecedented change and with all land-based businesses required to reduce their carbon footprint, the way these businesses operate is inevitably going to be different."
“I would urge everyone registered with Farming Connect to apply for the Advisory Service now, because this is a critical time for every business to put efficiency and profits at the forefront, to identify areas with the potential for improvement or growth and tackle any which are likely to under-perform longer term."
Eight leading rural consultancies are approved to deliver the Advisory Service. One-to-one advice is funded by up to 80%, while group advice, available for between three and eight individuals, will be fully funded up to a maximum of €1,500 (euros) per application. The service can be applied for up to four times.
Business planning is one of a number of categories available through the Advisory Service, providing successful applicants with the opportunity to seek confidential, independent advice which will help them appraise their business and safeguard its future. Others include infrastructure improvements; soil, grassland and crop management, livestock management and performance, agri-environment issues and woodland management.
“Whatever sector you are involved in, identifying areas for improvement and finding solutions to challenges will be critical for businesses needing to compete in the new global marketplace,” said Mrs. Williams.
For more detailed information on the Advisory Service, visit www.gov.wales/farmingconnect. Alternatively, call the Farming Connect Service Centre on 08456000 813 or contact your local development officer.
Farming Connect, which is delivered by Menter a Busnes and Lantra, has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.