FREE business-focused training programme for new entrants!
We are very excited to be working with Landworkers’ Alliance, Shared Assets, The Apricot Centre, The Kindling Trust, OrganicLea, The Ubele Initiative and Eve’s Hil Veg Co to deliver a FREE business-focused training programme for new entrants into agroecological farming in Southeast & London and Southwest England.
What will you receive?
– One to one support on the opportunities and challenges for your businesses or business ideas.
– Online training: An online learning platform with access to a range of workshops, talks and guides that can be accessed at any time, as well as live Q&A sessions.
– Peer to peer support: time with other new entrants going through similar challenges.
– Site visits: we’ll take you to visit established and successful agroecological farms to learn how these experienced growers and farmers manage the business side of their work.
– Opportunities to pitch your business ideas to funders and landowners: You’ll have training and practice in how to pitch to landowners and finance providers.
Who is it for?
This Defra sponsored project is available to two different cohorts of new entrant agroecological farmers with different levels of experience: the start-up cohort and the scale-up cohort. The project will run between November 2022 and March / April 2023.
For the start-up cohort, the programme will cover foundational aspects of starting and running a farm business including: business planning, looking for land, getting planning consent, fundraising, forecasting and analysis, markets and cooperative networks.
The ‘start up’ programme is for new entrants who have at least 6 months training or experience in farming, land management or conservation who are looking to start their own new farm business.
For the scale-up cohort, learning will be focussed on expanding, diversifying income and increasing resilience within the context of changing farming landscape.
The ‘scale up’ programme is aimed at those with up to 10 years’ experience managing or being a partner in an agroecological farm business, who are looking to develop and expand.