Defra has announced a new £1.5 million Farmer Welfare Grant, aimed at improving mental health, wellbeing and business resilience across England’s farming sector. The funding will be available over the next three years, with applications opening on 6 August.
The grant will support rural charities and agricultural organisations to deliver practical services, including one-to-one support, resilience training, workshops and wellbeing initiatives tailored to farmers’ needs. The scheme builds on a previous funding round, which helped deliver mental health support, first aid training, networking events and business resilience programmes to farming communities across the country.
Defra said the expanded programme has been shaped by feedback from farming organisations and is designed to help address the growing pressures facing farmers, from rising business costs to unpredictable weather. Poultry producers and other farmers will be able to access support through participating organisations once funding is awarded.