WIREDGOV

A series of presentations at agricultural colleges across the South West has been held as part of the final season of events organised by Natural England’s Soils for Profit (S4P) Project.

The interactive talks, which were both practical and stimulating, were organised as a way of introducing a new generation of farmers to the benefits of farming their land more precisely; helping them save money on expensive inputs while improving their local environment.

Since the initiative was launched in October 2009, the Soils for Profit Project has successfully held nearly 280 group events and provided practical, hands-on training and advice to more than 6,500 farmers in south west England.

The project has provided support to the area’s farmers in a variety of different ways.  The free on-farm advisory visits have provided farm-specific advice to more than 2,800 farmers to help them to manage their soils, manures and nutrients more efficiently.  Since 2011 S4P has funded a free analysis of five soil samples prior to the visit to help inform the on-farm advice.

With the project coming to a close this year, the S4P on-farm reviews are now closed to new registrations, but the S4P Project Team hopes that its work on farms and in colleges will leave a lasting legacy with both the current and future farmers of the South West.

Steve Marston,  the Soils for Profit Project Manager, said: “We are delighted with the way the S4P Project has been positively received by the farming industry and that so many local farmers have profited from the advice and training that we have provided.  In total, nearly 6,500 farmers have benefited directly from training and advice provided by the Soils for Profit Project.  We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been involved in organising, delivering and supporting this innovative and successful initiative.”

The S4P Project has also provided farmers with information about grant assistance, with many going on to successfully apply for funding from the former SWARM Small Capital Grant Scheme, the Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme (FFIS) and the Catchment Sensitive Farming Capital Grant Scheme.

Steve attributes the success of S4P to the quality and close working relationships developed throughout  the project.  He added: “This has been a strong partnership involving both the public and private sectors and has involved a quality team of in-house project staff, various independent farm consultancy companies and also other parts of the South West Agricultural Resource Management (SWARM) Initiative.

“Throughout the project we have worked in close partnership with the SWARM Knowledge Hub, the Environment Agency, Rural Focus, Catchment Sensitive Farming and Defra’s Farm Advice Service.”

The overall response from farmers, students & other participants to the initiative has been overwhelmingly positive.  NFU SW Environment Adviser, Paul Cottington, said: “I think this has been one of the big winners of the current programme and has helped to address many environmental issues on farms across the South West and at the same time deliver effective farming focused solutions.  We would hope that something similar is available in the next round of the Rural Development Programme funding”.

For further information (media enquiries only) please contact:
David Hirst, Natural England press officer: david.hirst@naturalengland.org.uk
Website: www.naturalengland.org.uk
Twitter: @NaturalEngland

Soils for Profit Project

The Soils for Profit Project is one element of the South West Agricultural Resource Management (SWARM) initiative. SWARM is designed to help farmers have more profitable and resilient businesses by managing their soils, manures and nutrients more efficiently whilst reducing the impact of their activities on the environment.