Introduction
The Future Farming Resilience Fund (FFRF) is funded by DEFRA and provides general business advice to farmers and landowners.
If the farm has received direct support payments since October 2022, they can get this expert support free of charge. This support is offered through group workshops, webinars, tours, farm visits and one-to-one advice to support the farming community transition away from the direct Basic Payment Scheme (BPS).
The support on offer included:
- Grant scheme advice
- Woodland Creation
- Farm/family succession planning
- Business Diversification
- Productivity Actions
- Environmental Schemes
- Business Planning and cashflows
- Marketing
What we did
Between October 2022 and March 2025, FWAG advisers worked across Somerset, Cornwall and Dorset to deliver approximately 3,000 hours of advice and support from 29 Farm Environment Advisers to 335 clients, supported by 43 workshops.
The advisers predominantly provided one-to-one advice on:
- reviewing the farm’s position and how the agricultural transition from the basic payment scheme (BPS) would affect their business.
- calculating the BPS reduction.
- discussing available and appropriate grants and funding opportunities.
- helping to develop an action plan for the future of their business.
The workshops provided advice on:
- timelines and reductions in the BPS.
- options to improve and increase productivity and available funding streams as the BPS payments reduce.
- an outline of the Environmental Land Management Schemes (ELMs) and the introduction to the Sustainable Faming Incentive (SFI).
- business diversification opportunities.
- capital grant schemes.
Challenges and benefits
Whilst the FFRF delivered multiple benefits, it was challenging at times to meet all our clients’ requirements within the constraints of the funding. The continuous evolution and staged roll-out of the SFI also made it challenging for our advisers to give advice to farmers.
Whilst the breadth of the advice that we could provide was limited by the contract, we were able to support farmers through our membership and wide range of services and expertise.
A key benefit was the provision of funding to help us guide a large number of farmers through the ELMs as this has been a long a challenging transition for many.
What’s next?
FWAG advisers are currently completing their final visits and offering updated advice to clients who were visited at the beginning of the contract, before the funding ends in March 2025.