Farming charities are seeking the views of farmers to ensure support continues to meet the evolving needs of the industry, as help is 'needed more than ever'.
The Farming Help charities, which consists of the Farming Community Network and Addington Fund, have launched a new survey to gather feedback.
This includes assessing which areas are most pressing or causing the most stress – such as succession planning, mental health and wellbeing, labour shortages or financial sustainability.
Farming Help is a collaboration between the two charities, with an aim to facilitate collaborative working practices to the benefit of the agricultural community.
They are seeking to ensure that their support services continue to meet the present-day needs of farmers, whilst identifying any gaps in support that may be present.
The new survey comes against the backdrop of market volatility, political uncertainty, the inheritance tax proposals and a rapidly changing climate.
It follows a similar survey FCN conducted in 2021, the findings of which helped to inform the charity’s work over the following years.
Dr Jude McCann, CEO of the Farming Community Network, said the support provided by FCN and Addington Fund was arguably needed now more than ever before.
He said: "With so much change affecting our sector, it is important we listen and learn directly from our farming community, and do what we can to accommodate farmers’ individual needs.
“We are showing the value of a collaborative approach by teaming up with Addington Fund as part of the alliance in order to conduct this important survey."
Sue English, fund director of Addington Fund, said the charity received calls daily from farmers and those living and working in rural areas who needed help.
"We want to be certain that we are meeting the current needs of this community fully, whether that be by helping directly or ensuring that we collaborate with our fellow farming charities, such as our friends at FCN, to provide that support.
“I’d encourage everyone in the farming sector to make their voices heard and tell us how charities can best help them when they need support.
"Those views are vital to develop our strategies to ensure support is easily and readily available in times of need.”
The survey is available online to participate in, with the deadline to respond set at 30 April 2025.
