Princes Countryside Fund

McDonald’s sources around 55% of the ingredients for their menu from 17,500 British and Irish farms and so it is important to them that they continue to have a strong and stable agricultural industry in Britain

Brian Mullens, Senior Vice-President for McDonald’s UK: “Sponsoring The Prince's Countryside Fund is a natural continuation of the long-term support McDonald’s show British farmers every year. It is important to us that we continue to have a strong and stable agricultural industry in Britain because we source so much of our food locally, from 17,500 British and Irish farms who supply all of our beef, organic milk, free-range eggs and pork.”

Marks & Spencer is one of the UK’s leading retailers with over 21 million customers visiting our stores every week.

Sir Stuart Rose, Former Executive Chairman: “Marks & Spencer has a long standing history of supporting British farmers and protecting the British countryside and we are very proud to be supporting The Prince’s Countryside Fund. Ensuring British farmers have a stable and successful future is at the heart of our business – we were the first retailer to introduce a milk pledge and a lamb pledge for our farmers to help give their businesses greater stability and enable them to plan for the future. We hope that working together with businesses from across the food industry we can raise awareness about the crucial role farmers and the countryside play in our country’s economy.”

Müller Dairy is the UK’s leading manufacturer of yogurts and chilled desserts, employing over 800 people in the Market Drayton dairy, making it one of the most significant employers in North Shropshire.

Gharry Eccles, CEO: “At Müller Dairy we are proud of our UK operations and wholly support The Prince’s Countryside Fund. Our business mission is to provide sustainable dairy goodness from the heart of Shropshire for the good of everyone, and so fully recognise the importance of the local, rural community. At Müller we work closely with the local farming community to develop sustainable practices and it matters enormously to us to invest in them for the future. We believe supporting The Prince’s Countryside Fund is a positive investment towards securing a sustainable future. ”

Barclays are delighted to be a partner of The Prince’s Countryside Fund and support the important work they do.  The Fund’s support of the British countryside and rural communities echoes Barclays’s long established commitment to supporting the farming industry in the UK.

At Barclays, we are aware of the specific demands placed on farming businesses, and the importance of a viable agricultural sector to the whole rural economy and rural communities. We provide financial services and guidance through teams of locally-based specialist Agricultural Managers whose objectives include helping businesses thrive and grow.

Lloyds Banking Group, through Lloyds TSB Agriculture and Bank of Scotland Agriculture is one of the major providers of finance to farms and rural businesses in the UK. "We are proud to support The Princes Countryside Fund with its objective of enabling people in the communities we serve to preserve and enhance the sustainability of the rural economy”

Musto specialises in producing performance clothing for sailing and country sports as well as lifestyle collections for both men and women. The environments where our country sports take place rely on many people to maintain the standards we enjoy, from the gamekeeper to the farrier. However, one of the most important contributors is the farmer. Whilst some farmers are doing very well, others in the UK are very positively in decline, especially those working with livestock in uplands areas. It is for this reason that Musto are pleased to support The Prince’s Countryside Fund - to help struggling farmers and their rural communities.

Mark McAndrew from Strutt & Parker's estate and farm agency division believes: "The Fund will provide vital support to the 5.5 million people who rely on rural industries for employment. Farmers are being squeezed by price wars in the supermarkets and rising contribution costs and anything that can ease pressure on them is a huge bonus for the British countryside."

Davidstow Cornish Cheddar offers an award winning range of delicious cheddars. With six decades of pride, passion and patience behind the brand, Davidstow's cheeses owe their quality and distinct character to a combination of time-honoured Cornish cheese-making skills and milk from cows that graze on Cornwall’s rich and green pastures. Surrounded by arguably Britain’s finest fields, it’s no coincidence that the Davidstow creamery has chosen to support The Prince’s Countryside Fund which helps farmers across the country.

Coutts is the wealth division of Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Coutts serves clients from over 40 offices across the world offering tailored wealth management, banking, trust and tax services. Coutts are proud to support The Prince’s Countryside Fund, demonstrating an investment back into the community many of their clients are involved in.

Brian Stein, CEO: “At Samworth Brothers, we know the value of our brands, and we also understand that the quality of the fresh produce which helps make our products stand out in a crowded marketplace is vital. As part of our commitment to the excellence of our products, we have developed strong links over many years with smaller, local suppliers. Samworth Brothers has always believed that a strong, effective rural community is the bedrock of wider countryside prosperity and are delighted to have an opportunity to support the work of The Prince’s Countryside Fund. We anticipate The Prince’s Countryside Fund developing and expanding over the coming years and look forward to playing our part in that progress.”

PepsiCo UK & Ireland (PUK) employs over 5,500 people across 19 locations, including the largest crisp factory in the world located in Leicester and the Quaker Oats factory at Cupar in Scotland, Copella apple juice at Boxford in Suffolk.

Richard Evans, President of PepsiCo UK & Ireland: “We’ve been investing in the future of our 350 UK farms for more than 25 years. We’re committed to ensuring UK farmland can remain resilient for future generations of farmers. We have long standing contracts with our growers – this means we have a vested interest in their long term viability and can create sustainability strategies collaboratively.”

United Biscuits is supporting The Prince's Countryside Fund and recognises the importance of a thriving rural economy. The high quality wheat produced by British farmers is a vital ingredient in the production of the nation's favourite McVitie’s biscuits.

David Fish, Executive Chairman: “United Biscuits is proud to be part of The Prince’s Countryside Fund as British agriculture is extremely important to us as a producer of quality biscuits. As the McVitie’s ‘wheat field’ adverts show, British wheat is a vital part of our McVitie’s range.”

Paul Murphy, CEO: "Over recent years Britain's rural communities have experienced a period of very extensive change. The Prince's Countryside Fund will help provide an important focus for a number of different initiatives aimed at supporting British farmers and developing the rural economy. From the perspective of the Jordans & Ryvita company, our products are made with wheat, oats and rye, largely grown by British farmers; many of whom also put wildlife friendly farming measures on their land as part of the Conservation Grade farming scheme. We know that many of the people who buy our products care about the countryside and would expect us to support this initiative by HRH The Prince of Wales that will establish a framework through which we can focus on providing support to some Britain's rural communities that are most in need."

Dairy Crest is the UK’s leading dairy foods company. Dairy Crest is proud of their links to the countryside and their dairy heritage. It is through this connection to the British countryside that Dairy Crest supports The Prince Countryside Fund with the Country Life and Davidstow brands. Country Life is the only major British butter brand to be made from milk exclusively from British dairy farms. The Davidstow creamery has over 400 local farmers supplying the milk needed to give the award winning cheddar its distinctive creamy character.

Mark Allen, CEO: "Dairy Crest is a major supporter of British farming and we are delighted to contribute to The Prince’s Countryside Fund in its aims to support the long term viability of our countryside and rural communities."