21 November 2007

Press release: Farming Futures secures £250,000 in new funding to help stimulate climate change action. 

The Farming Futures coalition was delighted by the Defra Secretary of State's announcement yesterday that up to a quarter of a million pounds would be available for the project to continue communicating climate change to farmers and land managers. 

The Rt Hon Hilary Benn made the announcement at the high-level Defra stakeholder conference on the 'Farming for the Future' on Monday. The Secretary of State believes Farming Futures is making "a really impressive contribution." 

The new funding will enable Farming Futures to:

·       Create on farm workshops and best practice case studies for mitigating and adapting to climate change

·       Translate R&D into practical messages to stimulate on farm action

·       Develop closer relations with the Rural Climate Change Forum, the Agricultural Industries Confederation and across the supply chain

·       Continue creating, identifying and supporting climate champions

·       Develop the range of fact sheets available for farmers and land managers

·       Continue raising awareness of climate change across the sector.

 Farming Futures is a communications collaboration project, managed by Forum for the Future on behalf of the NFU, CLA and Applied Research Forum, representing the seven agricultural and horticultural levy boards. The further funding from Defra, of up to £250,000, will allow the project to continue up to March 2009, provided the existing partners, or new ones, can also commit to contributing resources. 

Katie Zabel, Project Manager of Farming Futures said: "We're delighted that funding has been extended. Farming Futures focusses on translating the science into messages that mean something to farmers and land managers - helping them play their part in tackling and dealing with climate change." 

Professor Graham Jellis, on behalf of the Applied Research Forum, said: "The Farming Futures partnership has been extremely useful to the Levy Boards and we look forward to expanding the programme, using science-based information to help farmers and their advisors prepare for the opportunities and challenges of climate change." 

Peter Kendall, NFU President said: "Climate change is an enormous challenge and farmers are ready and able to play a key role in being part of the solution to the problems it poses. Farming Futures has helped raise awareness of what farmers can do to make a difference. Extending its programmes will see further research and development turned in to messages to stimulate practical action on the ground and encourage even more farmers to find out how they can play their part." 

Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, President of the NFU said: "Through Farming Futures, CLA members are uniquely placed to help combat climate change, and ever since our 2001 report - Climate Change and the Rural Economy, we've been looking at the positive ways land managers can contribute to managing climate change. The financial extension is great news - the extra funding will allow the project to engage directly with land managers and farmers through face to face workshops, both regionally and sectorally." 

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Notes to editors

·       Media enquiries to Katie Zabel, Communications Officer, on 07825 204434 or k.zabel@forumforthefuture.org.uk

·       Farming Futures is a collaboration between Forum for the Future, the NFU, CLA and the seven levy boards (via the Applied Research Forum).  It aims to communicate the challenges and opportunities of climate change to farmers

·       Sector specific fact sheets, case studies and news can be found on: www.farmingfutures.org.uk

·       More information on Defra's 'Farming for the Future' conference, and Hilary Benn's speech can be found on www.defra.gov.uk