News from the RCF

As we say goodbye to summer and head towards autumn, September heralds the start of our free resilience programmes for family farms across the UK, while our new funding programme for rural communities in Cumbria and Northumberland is still open for applications until the end of the month. Our team have also been getting out and about to join farmers and learn more about how you can make savings in soil!  Now you also have the opportunity to do so through our webinar.

Read on to find out more!

Farm for the Future in England is heading into its final year, which is the last chance for family farms to receive FREE business and environmental support through this programme. We deliver a flexible and engaging programme both in-person and online, including a one-to-one meeting with a farm consultant, workshops, signposting, 1:1 support, peer networking and learning to farms in 17 locations across England.

For farms in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this year’s Farm Resilience Programme will be taking place in: Cairngorms and Lanarkshire in Scotland, Monmouthshire and Llanrwst in Wales and Ballyclare and Armagh in Northern Ireland.

The Farm Resilience Programme is open to dairy and livestock family farm businesses and takes a whole-farm and whole-family approach to supporting you in becoming more profitable and resilient.

Join us for a free webinar with Farm Carbon Toolkit on Thursday 12th September at 7pm. We'll cover topics such as why it's important to test our soil, what to test for and what the results may tell us.

Funding for rural communities in Cumbria and Northumberland

From an old pub to a rural hub: Grizedale Arts and The Farmer’s Arms is a wonderful example of a community-led initiative supported by The Royal Countryside Fund.

The Farmer's Arms, a historic inn for centuries in Lake District, was rescued and revived by Grizedale Arts and the local community who turned it into a space for creative and business projects, training events and volunteer placements for local people.

We believe such collaborative initiatives have the power to build a stronger sense of community and address loneliness and isolation in rural areas.

That is why, together with The National Lottery Community Fund, we have launched a new funding programme to support more projects like this one in Cumbria or Northumberland.

If you are looking for funding for a similar initiative in one of those counties, we would love to hear from you.

For those rural community projects outside Cumbria and Northumberland, our new UK-wide grant programme will be opening for applications in January 2025 and further information is now available on our website.

Our work is only made possible by people who care about the countryside and its future. By becoming a Friend of the Countryside from just £3 a month, you can help ensure we can continue to meet the growing needs of farming and rural communities across the UK.

How can your donation help?      

£3 ensures a farmer has access to telephone advice from one of the Farm Support Groups in our network.

£8 could pay for one elderly resident to use a rural transport initiative supported by our grants programme to attend a crucial medical appointment.

£15 invested by our Farm Resilience Programme could see a £45 return for farmers.