Call for business advice
Future Farming Resilience
Navigating the Agricultural Transition
This Programme has now finished. We will update this page if further support becomes available later in 2022.
Free, information and business skills development workshops to help farmers and land managers navigate the changes brought about by the Agricultural Transition.
Between 2021 and 2027, the government will gradually reduce and then stop Direct Payments. Instead, farmers will be supported to improve the environment, improve animal health and welfare, and reduce carbon emissions.
There will be three levels of support aimed at paying for sustainable farming practices, creating habitats for nature recovery and making landscape-scale change such as establishing new woodland and other ecosystem services.
The move away from Direct Payments will be a big change for some farmers, so they will happen over a 7-year transition period to give time to plan and adjust. The Future Farming Resilience Fund has been funded by Defra to allow us to support farmers and land managers with this transition.
The support is free and available from September 2021 to April 2022 to any farmer or land manager currently in receipt of BPS payments. We are able to support farmers throughout Devon and Somerset.
Business Information Point has been supporting farmers since we began over 25 years ago, and have built up a wealth of experience and expertise across all farm business types. Through this free support, we can tailor the advice to your specific needs and prepare you for the changes ahead.
Answering Your Questions
Let's answer your questions and talk about the opportunities from the Agricultural Transition:
- How fast is my BPS reducing?
- Are there new grants to grow the business?
- Where does organic or regenerative farming fit with the agricultural transition?
- What are the components of the ELMS scheme?
- What's your succession plan?
- How can I diversify my business?
- Can I increase my productivity to improve my profits as the BPS reduces?
- Can I get paid for protecting my soils in 2022?
- Could I retire with the Lump Sum Retirement Scheme?
- Will the Sustainable Farming Incentive work on my farm?
How we can help
The support programme is set out in three stages, starting with attendance at one of our local Agricultural Transition Workshops. Once you've been to a workshop, depending on availability you may be able to access additional free one-to-one support, followed by access to our specialist, small group workshops should you wish. After the initial workshop, the support is completely tailored to your needs. See below for further details:
From September 2021, join us at one of our local agricultural transition workshops which we will be running throughout Devon and Somerset. These sessions will outline the changes, how to handle the reduction in BPS payments, discuss new grant schemes and assess options for the future. All of our available workshops which include a free buffet and refreshments can be found below.
We have a local network of highly experienced consultants and advisors who can sit down with you and get under the skin of your farm business. They will work with you to assess your current position, how the changes are going to affect you and your farm and discuss the options available to you. Carried out in-person or remotely, they will perform a thorough, independent review of all your activities and help to develop an agreed action plan for the future.
We are no longer able to offer this to anyone new joining the programme.
In addition to the transition workshops and one to one support, we will be delivering a range of specialist, small group workshops where we can discuss and focus on particular topics to help improve your farm business and manage your transition. We will be developing these over the course of the programme, though here are some topics we may look at exploring:
- Exiting the industry
- Family succession planning
- Business diversification
- Adding value to food and drink
- Productivity
- Environmental schemes
- Business planning and cashflow
Our delivery partners
In order to ensure we can reach and support as many farmers as possible, we are working with a number of delivery partners. We understand every farm and business is unique and this arrangement also allows us the flexibility to draw on each other's knowledge and experience to ensure we can help and support you whatever your individual needs.
Somerset Business Agency
All the workshops and one-to-one support taking place in Somerset will be carried out by our partners, Somerset Business Agency. If your farm is located in Somerset you can still find and register on any of the available workshops in your area below. These workshops and all additional one-to-one and workshop support will be delivered by their agricultural advisors. This information is also available on the SBA website.
Soil Association
The Soil Association will also be delivering a small number of workshops and one-to-one consultations, primarily in Devon, giving us access to their unique expertise and experience.
Free Workshops
Register for one of our free workshops which all include refreshments and a free buffet. If you can't find a date that suits, don't worry as we will be adding new dates and locations regularly until January 2022 so please check back or sign up to our newsletter for updates.
Please note: you will need to attend an initial 'Navigating the Agricultural Transition' workshop before you can access the additional, optional free support.
NEED SOME MORE INFO?
If you'd like further information about the support available or would like to suggest a workshop location then please leave your details below and someone will be in touch.
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Funding Partners
