A PROJECT aiming to help provide a viable future for Dartmoor farmers has been given a cash boost to help continue its work providing advice and training.

The Dartmoor Hill Farm Project was named as one of the beneficiaries of the Prince's Countryside Fund's £650,000 investment in rural initiatives announced last week.

The project received a grant of £49,762, which will help to facilitate the transfer of knowledge for continuous improvement of agricultural businesses.

The Dartmoor Hill Farm Project was set up to ensure a viable future for Dartmoor farmers and the project was co-founded by the Duchy of Cornwall and the Dartmoor National Park Authority.

Since 2003, it has supported farmers on Dartmoor to establish and run a wide range of projects to add value to their businesses and to increase vocational skills.

The funding has been awarded to extend the current programme for another two years to include gearing up farmers for new funding opportunities, encouraging business benchmarking schemes, preparing for succession and planning and supporting young farmers on Dartmoor by helping them programme and run farm exchange visits and create a sustainable structure.

Project manager Sandra Dodd said: 'We are delighted to receive the funding. In a period of uncertainty it is very good news and hopefully the farmers will think the same.

Sandra said they would use the money to continue projects already running and help set up new ones.

'We will be looking at benchmarking — encouraging farmers to look at their income and expenditure to see where they are spending unwisely and try to bring some value back to their farms. We will work with the next generation of farmers organising events and trips and continue with our newsletters ensuring advice is up to date.

'Within innovation and technology, we are looking to hold a Dartmoor expo of equipment that is "Dartmoor proof", hopefully in 2016/17.'

She said they were also hoping to encourage farmers to develop good practise and then use them as demonstration farms so others could learn from them and they hope to attend some livestock markets to talk to farmers, giving advice, signposting and giving as much support as they can.

Founded by HRH the Prince of Wales to help secure a brighter future for British farmers and the countryside, the Prince's Countryside Fund will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year. In the five years since its inception, the fund has invested more than £5-million in rural Britain. It works to help farmers and rural communities in greatest need and aims to ensure a better future for those who live and work in the countryside, ensuring there are skilled farmers of the future, thriving rural communities and improved livelihoods both economically and socially.

Helen Aldis, manager of the Prince's Countryside Fund, said: 'As we look forward to celebrating the fifth anniversary of the Prince's Countryside Fund, it's incredibly encouraging to see the positive, long-term impact of the funding on the projects and communities we have supported to date.

'The countryside faces unprecedented challenges across a wide range of complex issues. But it is our hope that by investing in these inspiring projects and programmes performing vital and often overlooked work in the countryside, rural Britain will face a brighter and more prosperous future.'

The fund is supported by Tindle Newspapers and a number of other national companies.