Countryside Fund grant boost for Myerscough agriculture

The Prince’s Countryside Fund has awarded Myerscough a grant of £30,600 to help up to 120 students with gaining qualifications and certificates by supporting a training voucher scheme.

The cash from the charity, established in 2010 by HRH The Prince of Wales, comes as part of a drive to support rural initiatives across the UK and since 2010 and has awarded more than £1 million to projects in the North West over the years. The Prince’s Countryside Fund, which aims to improve the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life, believes more is needed to be done to help those affected.

Craig Thompson, Head of Agriculture and Countryside, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for agricultural students at Myerscough College to enhance their employment prospects and help farming businesses across the North West.” 

Lord Curry of Kirkharle, chairman of The Prince’s Countryside Fund, said: “We are delighted to be able to support projects that will provide a lasting legacy in so many rural areas. The next five years are critical for our rural communities and against a background of growing uncertainty, our grant programme provides essential support to people living and working in the countryside.

“Rural communities need to be prioritised. It is easy to forget just how much we depend on rural businesses and family farms. With an ageing rural population and a shortage of new entrants embarking on rural careers, it is vital that we continue to support grassroots initiatives to ensure we maintain a thriving and sustainable future for our rural communities."

Veronica Waller, project manager, Farmer Network said: “We want to develop an innovative method of engaging farmers in knowledge transfer by using farmers' own knowledge to help other farmers develop their technical and business skills.  We will help farmers support each other with group meetings based on sharing information and using local farm data.  At a time when there is a lot of uncertainty about the future of farm support, we hope this project will help farmers make their businesses more resilient to change.”

For further information visit www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk ,or for more details about the range of agriculture study programmes available at Myerscough College, click here: http://www.myerscough.ac.uk/courses/agriculture/