Specialist advice: an essential component to farm resilience planning

Find out about specialist advice available in this article from the Farm Advisory Service.

Ongoing uncertainty over future subsidies and an ever-changing economic and political landscape mean that now, more than ever, it is important that Scottish farmers, crofters and landowners have a clear understanding of the strength of their business resilience.

The Scottish Government is encouraging farming business owners and land managers to take advantage of the funding support available to them via the Farm Advisory Service (FAS) to bring in an expert adviser to help them review the strengths and weaknesses of their business and develop a resilience action plan.

Support available:

• Up to £1,000 available to fund a business specialist advice report
• No requirement for a prior Integrated Land management Plan (ILMP)
• Funding available until 31 March 2020

The adviser will work with a participating business to establish key performance indicators for financial resilience, analyse enterprise exposure, assess profitability and cash flow, and inspect the ‘health’ of the balance sheet. In consultation with a business owner or representative, the adviser will identify appropriate resilience action measures that can be taken and develop a practical implementation plan for the business.

Farming businesses can apply for FAS support online at www.fas.scot/specialist-advice. Applications will be accepted from 30 September 2019 until 31 March 2020.

Prior to the application opening date, anyone interested in applying is encouraged to register with FAS by calling 0300 323 0161 or emailing advice@fas.scot to receive an application pack in preparation of the submission window.

Visit the Farm Advisory Service website.