Farm charities call for funds as hardship cases rise

Farming charities are appealing for donations so they can continue to help producers struggling because of a lack of forage and high feed prices.

Organisations operating under the Farming Help umbrella have reported a sharp increase in calls since the start of the year.

Sue Burgess, operations manager for the Addington Fund, said during the whole of 2012 the charity had received 39 calls for hardship grants from farmers battling to feed stock.

“We had 10 calls alone from people yesterday (9 April). Over the first three months of this year we’ve already had 109 calls for help,” she said.

“I’ve worked for the Addington fund since 2001 and foot-and-mouth and I haven’t heard such disillusionment since then. I’ve had people in tears on the phone. Spring is so late and there is no forage, so they are being forced to buy in feed but is it just so expensive.”

Ms Burgess said it was vital that the charities continued to generate funds in order to be able to keep offering help. “Unless we do the call on funds is going to be greater than the funds available.”

Charles Smith, chief executive of the Farming Community Network, said they too had seen a significant increase in calls.

“The difficulty is that this has gone on for so long. During the late part of last year people were hanging on because they could see spring was in sight and there was optimism things would come good. But it hasn’t been the case.”

Mr Smith said most calls were coming in from the livestock areas of the country, such as the north east, north west and south west of England.

He urged farmers who were feeling desperate to pick up the phone and talk things through.

“The pressure just builds and often there is no one to share it with. But that’s what we are there for. We are there to help and listen.”

Meanwhile, the Prince’s Countryside Fund has announced that it has £500,000 of grant funding available for projects that will have lasting positive effects of rural communities.

Organisations and charities that are helping rural communities can apply for funding for projects that either improve service provision in rural areas, support rural enterprise, support farming businesses or provide training opportunities for young people.

The Prince’s Countryside Fund authorised the release of £219,000 from its emergency relief fund to go to farming help charities just prior to Easter.

More on this topic