NFU Mutual hosts The Prince’s Countryside Fund at the Great Yorkshire Show

NFU Mutual hosts The Prince’s Countryside Fund at the Great Yorkshire Show to raise awareness of support for Yorkshire farmers

NFU Mutual hosted The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) at the Great Yorkshire Show today (12th July). The leading rural insurer and UK-wide farming support charity came together with around 60 attendees to celebrate and promote the farm resilience support delivered to farmers across Yorkshire.

Over the last five years, the PCF has delivered the Farm Resilience Programme (FRP) to four groups across Yorkshire and their most recent Defra-funded programme, Farm for the Future, to a further two groups in the county.

Three of the farmers benefitting from the PCF programmes spoke about their experiences at the breakfast reception, praising the tips for small changes to improve farm resilience and their farmed environment, the opportunity to network with other farmers, and the importance of succession and looking forward to the next generation.

The session also celebrated the successes of the FRP, with a recent independent evaluation finding that the programme delivers significant economic, social, and environmental benefits for farmers. For every £1 invested by the programme, there is around a £3 return for farmers – not including ongoing benefits to farmers which continue after they’ve completed the programme. It also found 56% of farmers reported increases in profitability and 73% of farmers reported improved business skills.

NFU Mutual has been hosting breakfast receptions for The Prince’s Countryside Fund at the Great Yorkshire Show since 2017 to aid the recruitment of farmers to the FRP. The NFU Mutual Charitable Trust has also donated £100,000 to The Prince’s Countryside Fund since 2020 to support their emergency funding for Farm Support Groups in 2020 and their flagship grant programme, Supporting Rural Communities, in 2021.

Chris Walsh, Farming Insurance Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “Many farmers feel the pressure of making sure their business is performing effectively and bringing a good standard of living to themselves, their family and any employees. With current economic challenges, these pressures feel particularly prevalent.

“The Farm Resilience Programme offers practical help for farmers to maximise their profit and long-term viability through one-to-one support and a series of workshops which focus on topics including business planning, finance, and environmental management.

“Helping our members in times of need and supporting rural communities has always been at the very heart of NFU Mutual’s approach. We are committed to making a positive impact through our charitable giving programme and are proud to be supporting The Prince’s Countryside Fund with the valuable services they offer.”

Keith Halstead, Executive Director of The Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “The Prince’s Countryside Fund wishes to see a thriving countryside – a living, breathing, working place which is there for everyone. Working together, we can help those who look after the countryside across Yorkshire and the UK more broadly to safeguard its future. The PCF is so grateful for the support from the NFU Mutual and the NFU Mutual Charitable Trust towards our work in enabling family farms to thrive and building confident rural communities.”

Find out more about our programmes here.