Investment in Working Together

The announcement of the Government's new £30 million Farmer Collaboration Fund was welcome news when revealed by Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds at the Great Yorkshire Show on the 16^th July. It is supporting the idea that many of us have believed in for years, farmers achieve more when we work together.

For us collaboration is not a new concept, it has been the foundation of our work since the Cluster was established. By bringing neighbouring farmers and land managers together, we have demonstrated that sharing knowledge, tackling challenges collectively and working across farm boundaries delivers benefits for both farm businesses and the wider landscape.

Why collaboration matters

Modern farming faces a wide range of challenges. Improving profitability, adapting to climate change, enhancing biodiversity, protecting water quality and maintaining productive soils all require innovation and informed decision making.

No single farm has all the answers. However, by learning from one another, testing new ideas together and sharing practical experience, farmers can reduce risk, improve efficiency and adopt new approaches more quickly.

That is exactly what the new Farmer Collaboration Fund seeks to encourage.

Rather than focusing on individual farm grants, the fund aims to support organisations and partnerships that can bring farmers together through facilitated groups, knowledge exchange, demonstration events and expert advice. The goal is to make best practice more accessible and to help successful ideas spread more widely across the farming community.

What does the new fund mean?

Although individual farmers are not expected to apply directly for these grants, the funding represents a significant opportunity for organisations like clusters, facilitation groups, research organisations and agricultural partnerships to support collaborative working.

For established farmer clusters, the fund has the potential to expand existing programmes, reach more farmers, introduce new expertise and develop even stronger partnerships across catchments.

Looking ahead

Our members have long understood that working together helps build resilient farm businesses while delivering positive outcomes for nature, soils, water and the wider rural community. This new investment reinforces that principle and provides an exciting opportunity to build on the collaborative foundations that already exist.

Further guidance and eligibility will be published in August with the fund opening on the 1st September.

The future of farming will be shaped not only by innovation and investment, but by partnership. We look forward to building on this work with our members and partners across the North East Cotswolds.

Read more about the announcement here: Shaping the Farmer Collaboration Fund: what we heard