Free farm consultancy service celebrates major milestone

AHDB’s Farm Business Review recently reached a significant landmark, with over 1,000 farmers now signed up. The service offers free consultancy to farm businesses in England most affected by the move away from the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).

The Farm Business Review, which is funded by Defra’s Future Farming Resilience Fund, is now open to arable, dairy and livestock farmers until June 2022. Eligible farmers are being urged not to delay in registering to ensure they don’t miss out on this free support.

Steve Dunkley, AHDB Head of Business Resilience, said: “Signing up to the Farm Business Review is a simple online process which only takes a few minutes. Once you’ve registered you’ll be matched with a suitable consultant, who will arrange a mutually convenient date to visit your farm and carry out a free, confidential consultation to help evaluate your options going forward.

“The service is available to all arable, dairy and livestock farmers in England. If you don’t have an email address or internet access, but still want to benefit from this support, you can register through another family member who is part of the farm business.”

Wiltshire-based dairy and arable farmer Peter Shallcross said: “A lot of farmers are in the same position of uncertainty, with many unsure about how they will recoup the losses presented by the move away from direct payments.

“The service is fantastic and will help many farmers and growers break down and identify specific areas which they need to work on for their businesses to succeed and thrive during the next challenging few years.”

To find out more about AHDB’s Farm Business Review visit www.ahdb.org.uk/farm-business-review.