Grant given by The Prince’s Countryside Fund to support the Farming Help charities

• The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) has awarded a grant of £25,000 to the national Farming Help charities to support them in their work helping farmers and farming families

The three Farming Help charities – Addington Fund, The Farming Community Network and Forage Aid – have spent the summer working together and touring around the agricultural shows to raise funds for their individual charities, whilst promoting the relaunch of the partnership.

The charities held three receptions from June through to August at The House of Lords, The Royal Cornwall Show and The Royal Cheshire Show, with allocated time slots for Q&As, where guests had the chance to ask questions about the partnership.

The funding from PCF has contributed to the rebrand and relaunch of Farming Help, including the development of a new leaflet to inform the farming community and members of public about the help on offer from the three charities.

The grant will also help to buy new Farming Help gazebos so the charities can attend specific shows and events around the country under the Farming Help banner.

The charities hope that the new campaign and rebrand will raise awareness and encourage more people to reach out to the charities when needed.

Jude McCann, Chair of Farming Help and Chief Executive Officer of The Farming Community Network, said: “The Farming Help partnership is a great example of collaboration between farming charities during this difficult period for UK agriculture, helping to ensure we’re providing the best possible support we can to the farming community. Through collaboration we can provide a wider-reaching and more effective service. We thank The Prince’s Countryside Fund for their ongoing and generous support for the Farming Help partnership.”

Bill Young from the Addington Fund said: “It is better to work together but still retaining our own identity and covering our own niche areas, whilst still working under the collective Farming Help banner.

“We believe that by working together collaboratively it will enable the charities to save money by reducing competition and cutting work and cost duplication. As a result of this, it will enable us to help more people from rural industries. It makes complete sense to stick together and support each other working for our own charities, whilst also promoting the three charities under the Farming Help brand.”

Andrew Ward MBE, Founder of Forage Aid, said: “Farming Help is truly delighted to have the support and backing from The Prince’s Countryside Fund and it is thanks to them that we are able to continue working closely together to help our farmers and those within the industry when times get tough.”

Keith Halstead from The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “In these difficult times for the farming community, The Prince’s Countryside Fund is pleased to fund more collaborative working by The Addington Fund, The Farming Community Network and Forage Aid, under the Farming Help banner. The PCF greatly values the opportunities to work with Farming Help, particularly in times of crises and through regular knowledge sharing. Therefore, we are delighted to invest in Farming Help’s proposals to become more effective in the way in which they support farmers.”