Write a comment£50K funding has been secured by Southern Regional College for a new project focusing on farm business diversification.
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The funding from the Prince’s Countryside Fund will enable the ASSET (Agriculture Sustaining Start-up Enterprise Training) programme to provide accredited training to members of farming families, equipping them with the skills required to diversify and create a supplementary income to their current farming business, improving farm sustainability and encouraging farmers of the future to remain within the industry.
The project is targeting young farmers within the southern region of Northern Ireland, particularly those who live in border and isolated areas and those who for various reasons are unable to attend agricultural college.
The project will provide locally based training for 15 participants, including accredited business and vocational training. Support will also be given to participants through business and equipment incentives, sharing models of best practice and ongoing business support.
The young farmers will cover topics relating to business planning such as marketing, identifying sources of funding, developing business plans, understanding business legislation and how to keep financial and other records. The vocational training provided will be specific to meet individual business needs and relate directly to their planned area of diversification for example AI, hoof trimming or spraying.
If you are a young farmer or a member of a farm family and you would like to find out more about the project contact Heather Kavanagh, Project Manager. M: 077 3633 6152, T: 028 3751 2833, E: kavanaghh@src.ac.uk
