Organisations giving free advice in your area (listed by county)
Updated 27 September 2024
Applies to England
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/get-free-business-advice-for-your-farm/organisations-giving-free-advice-in-your-area-listed-by-county
To get free advice, using the table on this page:
- select your area from the side menu
- select an organisation in your area
- check which farming sector the organisation deals with
- find out what support they offer
- use their contact details to get in touch
Bedfordshire
Berkshire
Buckinghamshire
Cambridgeshire
Cheshire
Cornwall
County Durham
Cumbria
Derbyshire
Devon
Dorset
East Riding of Yorkshire
East Sussex
Essex
Gloucestershire
Greater London
Greater Manchester
Hampshire
Herefordshire
Hertfordshire
Isle of Wight
Isles of Scilly
| Farm sector | Organisation and what it can offer | Contact | Organisation website |
|---|---|---|---|
| All |
ADAS |
resilience@adas.co.uk 03301 755 839 |
ADAS website |
| All |
Brown & Co |
defraffr@brown-co.com 01480 598 869 |
Brown & Co website |
| All |
DJM Consulting |
djmc@theruralbusiness.co.uk 01746 714 089 |
DJM Consulting website |
| All |
Laurence Gould Partnership |
keith@laurencegould.com 07968 412 052 |
Laurence Gould website |
| All |
NIAB |
futurefarming@niab.com 01223 342 289 |
NIAB website |
| All |
Ricardo-AEA Ltd |
ffrf@ricardo.com 01235 753 530 |
Ricardo - AEA Ltd website |
| All |
Soil Association |
producer.support@soilassociation.org 0117 314 5199 |
Soil Association website |
| All |
The Royal Countryside Fund with Farm Cornwall |
project@countrysidefund.org.uk 07579 813 821 |
The Royal Countryside Fund website |
| Dairy, beef, sheep, cereals |
Promar International |
defra-farming-resiliency@genusplc.com 07971 118 688 |
Promar International website |
| Livestock |
JH Agri Consultancy |
jhadwin@jhagriconsultancy.co.uk 07739 176 667 |
JH Agri Consultancy website |
Kent
Lancashire
Leicestershire
Lincolnshire
Merseyside
Norfolk
Northamptonshire
Northumberland
North Yorkshire
Nottinghamshire
Oxfordshire
Rutland
Shropshire
Somerset
South Yorkshire
Staffordshire
Suffolk
Surrey
Tyne & Wear
Warwickshire
West Midlands
West Sussex
West Yorkshire
Wiltshire
Worcestershire
ADAS
can offer you:
- meetings about the agricultural transition
- business reviews
- one-to-one advice about your business, including the technical and environmental aspects
- workshops
- a telephone helpline
- how to and best practice guidance
ADAS can help your farm business become more resilient by:
- raising awareness of the agricultural transition
- increasing understanding of the business impacts of the agricultural transition
- providing the decision-making support tools to improve profitability and manage change
Berrys
can offer you:
- one-to-one business advice including on-site meetings, business reports and action plans
- follow up sessions
You can get advice and guidance on:
- current business performance
- the agricultural transition and the impact of the reduction in Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) payments
- diversification
- succession
- business strategy
- landlord and tenant matters
- what future support may be available
Brown & Co
can offer you:
- one-to-one on-farm business support
- an overall business review
- detailed financial planning
- support for technology adoption and efficiency
- benchmarking and collaboration opportunities
- support to assess land and building assets
- support to formulate environmental and natural capital plans
- guidance on supporting tenants
- guidance on greenhouse gas baselining and carbon strategy
Ceres Rural LLP
can offer you:
- farm resilience reports
- carbon audits
- benchmarking reports and workshops
- business planning and budgeting
- follow-up business reviews
- new business reviews
Support is available online and also on-farm when appropriate, to help you:
- understand and prepare for the agricultural transition
- identify how to adapt your business to maximise resilience
- get tailored and timely advice
Devon County Council
can offer you:
- workshops about the impact of the agricultural transition on farm businesses
- flexible one-to-one support
- financial analysis and review of reduction to BPS
- guidance on productivity and diversification
- retirement and succession planning
- business and action planning
- carbon audits
- innovation plans
This support uses a targeted approach to help farms adapt to the agricultural transition and become more resilient to the changes.
DJM Consulting
can offer you:
- strategic meetings and business support
- analysis of your accounts and BPS reductions
- farm visits and discussion with our consultants
- tailored action plans and practical recommendations
- progress meetings (supporting decisions and implementation)
If DJM Consulting supported you during the interim phase of the Farming Resilience Fund (FRF), you can have support focused more on the progress in your business.
GSC Grays Ltd
can offer you:
- bespoke business advice from a farm business consultant
- one-to-one support (initial half-day farm business diagnostic and a potential bespoke in depth 2-day review follow up)
- group support (farm walks, workshops, business group meetings)
- webinars
The focus of support is on:
- production management
- environmental resource management
- business and financial management
- new enterprises and diversification
- business restructuring, succession and exit planning
JH Agri Consultancy
can offer you:
- bespoke, one-to-one, on-farm support
- a full business review, using proven, practical and technical based solutions
- advice on the impact of BPS reduction, budgeting and cashflows
Follow up support includes:
- grassland management (paddock and rotation grazing)
- beef and sheep nutrition
- farm stocking potential
- environmental scheme advice and support
- carbon audits
- animal health pathway
Laurence Gould Partnership
can offer you:
- webinars about the agricultural transition
- on-farm one-to-one advice from an experienced consultant
- an analysis report for your farm business and an action plan
- separate follow-on one-to-one visits for on-farm facilitation service
- carbon footprinting (which shows a comparison with farms in your sector) and a carbon reduction action plan
Webinars will cover the latest developments impacting farmers.
One-to-one visits will focus on:
- business objectives
- how to generate income to replace BPS
- how to improve farm resilience using the support and grants available, including environmental schemes
Carbon footprinting will identify changes to:
- carbon management
- carbon reductions
- market opportunities
Natural Enterprise
can offer you:
- one-to-one appraisals
- seminars
- workshops
- a rural information hub
- newsletters
- regular updates
This support is designed to help farm businesses become more resilient through the agricultural transition.
NIAB
can offer you:
- farmer workshops to explore the impacts of direct payment reductions and options for change
- one-to-one support to develop structured change management plans
- targeted workshops and a resource library on financial, technical and well-being support, to aid change planning
- in-depth appraisals to address specific issues
- peer to-peer interaction to share experiences
NIAB can help you to develop a farm-specific change plan built from a measured understanding of the challenges.
The workshops are used to discuss options together for changes in practice.
Promar International
can offer you a one-to-one general business review. You can also have a follow up session on one of the following:
- nutrient management
- financial account review
- carbon footprint assessment
- workforce planning
- animal health audit
- farm payments planning review
Ricardo-AEA Ltd
can offer you:
- local workshops, podcasts and online webinars
- a website with a self-help resilience toolbox
- personal support from specialist farm business consultants to help you develop a business plan
- personal support from specialist agri-environment consultants to help identify opportunities for business led options to support resilience
- follow-up support to help implement changes
You can receive professional advice to help:
- develop a plan to improve the profitability, environmental sustainability and resilience of your business
- identify risks
- achieve business goals
The webinars, events and online resources can help you identify and implement next steps and get the support you may need putting plans into action.
Soil Association
can offer you:
- webinars about the agricultural transition and quarterly refresher courses
- workshops
- one-to-one advice and support
- on-farm visits to help with business sustainability action planning
The Royal Countryside Fund (RCF)
can offer you:
- business support, tools and advice to help you navigate the agricultural transition and make informed decisions about the future of your business
- help with understanding more about current policy changes and how they will affect your business
- help with discovering opportunities such as the Environmental Land Management (ELM) schemes that may financially and practically benefit your farm
Support includes:
- access to free training and advice through workshops, one-to-one support, online learning, signposting and networking
- workshops offering business and environmental skills training to help you prepare for agricultural policy changes, tackle the challenges you face and grasp the opportunities available
- the offer of membership to the RCF’s Farm Resilience Network which provides a bank of resources and ongoing support to every farmer who participates
This programme is delivered by local, trusted partners in 17 regions across England:
- Dartmoor Hill Farm Project – Dartmoor (Devon)
- Exmoor Hill Farming Network – the Greater Exmoor area (Somerset)
- Farm Cornwall – Cornwall, Isles of Scilly
- Herefordshire Rural Hub – Herefordshire
- High Weald National Landscape – High Weald AONB – East Sussex
- Myerscough College – Lancashire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester
- Norfolk Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) – Norfolk
- Northumberland National Park Authority – Northumberland National Park
- North York Moors National Park Authority – North York Moors National Park
- Pasture for Life – Berkshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Wiltshire; Suffolk and Cambridgeshire; East Midlands (Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland)
- The Farmer Network – Cumbria, Northumberland, Yorkshire Dales
- The Farming Life Centre – Peak District (Derbyshire)
- Upper Teesdale Agricultural Support Services (UTASS) – County Durham
If your area is not listed, you could join The Royal Countryside Fund virtual group, delivered to all areas of England by Christina Hutchings.
Wilson Wraight
can offer you:
- one-to-one financial and strategic advice on-farm
- a full business review to show the financial implications of BPS reduction and how to adapt and develop your farm business
- a strategic business plan highlighting opportunities to increase overall business resilience