Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir MLA is pictured with Kevin Doherty, Chief Executive Officer of Rural Support.
Succession planning for farm families is being examined in a new pilot scheme.
Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir MLA has announced the launch of the Farming for the Generations pilot scheme.
Minister Muir said:
“The Farming for the Generations pilot scheme is part of my Department’s transformational new Farm Support and Development Programme, and aims to raise awareness of the need for succession planning on farms to help ensure the long-term sustainability of the farm business. If a succession plan isn’t in place, this can introduce a high degree of uncertainty for the business.
"The scheme will support farm families through planning for succession, developing the successor, and supporting the lead generation within the farm family. The new Planning for Succession element of the pilot will target 60 farm families and will include support for the farm business to develop a succession plan, a farm business review and a Personal Development Plan for the successor. The pilot scheme will also link farmers without a family successor to consider opportunities to partner with new entrants and other farm businesses to provide access to land and other resources.”
The Minister continued:
“I am delighted to announce that Rural Support will be delivering this pilot scheme on behalf of DAERA. Rural Support have a great depth of experience on this issue and are well respected across our farming community.”
Commenting on the launch of the Farming for the Generations pilot scheme, Kevin Doherty, CEO of Rural Support said:
“Rural Support, the Farm Support Charity for Northern Ireland are delighted to have won this contract. A key focus of this programme is succession planning, as establishing a plan for the farm succession will ensure effective transfer of responsibilities and assets to the next generation; whilst ensuring the protection of both the farm business and farm family.
“Registration for a number of awareness sessions will open soon via social media and our website and these sessions will inform our farming community of what this programme includes, how it will affect their farm business and how they can get involved.”
According to 2018 DAERA equality indicators statistics, the mean age of farmers in Northern Ireland is 59, 36% of managers of a family farm in Northern Ireland are over the age of 65 and only 8% are under the age of 40.
Helping farmers and their families with a range of issues related to the farm business and their wellbeing is an important issue for the DAERA Minister.
Minister Muir concluded:
“This pilot scheme will commence with a range of awareness sessions across Northern Ireland in the coming months and I would encourage all farm businesses to consider the opportunity that is provided by this pilot programme.”
The Farming for the Generations pilot scheme aims to raise awareness of the need for succession planning on farms.
The scheme will support farm families through a three phased approach: planning for succession, developing the successor, and supporting the lead generation within the farm family. It will also link farmers without a family successor to new entrants and other farm businesses to provide access to land and other resources.
Rural Support have been awarded the contract to deliver the Farming for the Generations Pilot Scheme. Rural Support provide a range of programmes and services for farmers and farm family members in support of their farm business and personal wellbeing, all accessible via a confidential Support Line which is open Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm. The phone number is 0800 138 1678.
These services include:
• On-farm Business Support
• Farm Business Programmes
• Person Centred Support
• Bereavement and Loss Support
• Support for Older Farmers
• Social Farming Support Service
• Agri Sector Training