There are several areas of support available through the RDPE Northwest Livestock Programme for farmers in Cumbria, Lancashire, Gt Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside:
The RDPE Livestock Programme part funds the costs of Animal Health and Welfare Plans carried out by your farm vet and an adviser. The planning looks at health and welfare issues and aims to improve profitability and product quality. There is also an allocation for testing to help identify any underlying issues e.g. blood sampling. The work is managed by SAC Consulting (working with Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency, Reaseheath College, Myerscough College and ICEP, with support from Kite Consultancy and Liverpool Vet School).
The RDPE Livestock Programme part funds the costs of Nutrient and Manure Management Planning for your farm. The planning involves soil sampling to look at maximising the use of slurry and manure, whilst reducing the use of fertilisers without compromising grass growth and reducing the impact of rainwater on slurry storage. The work is carried out by Promar International with support from SAC.
The RDPE Livestock Programme part funds the costs of Resource Efficiency Audits for your farm. The audit looks at ways of saving energy and water by using more efficient equipment and exploring options for renewable energy. The work is carried out by Promar International and supported by SAC.
The Farming and Forestry Improvement Scheme Grant is a national grant, available in the North West through the RDPE Northwest Livestock Programme to help improve the overall economic performance of livestock holdings in England. The fund is available to fund recommendations made by the Animal Health and Welfare Plans, Nutrient Management Plans and Resource Efficiency Audits.
There is support for new and existing farmer groups to access specialist help and technical information. On farm events are held where best practice and new technologies are demonstrated.
Six monitor farms have been established across the region and are working with specialists to improve farm performance. Farmers, in business groups attached to these farms, learn from the specialists working with the farm, share ideas and identify opportunities to improve their own farms
All of this support is delivered in partnership by Myerscough College, Reaseheath College, Cumbria Farmer Network and EFFP, with support from Eblex and DairyCo. The project is contract managed by Myerscough College.
Get Involved with a Monitor Farm
This website has been developed to keep North West livestock farmers up-to-date with the RDPE Northwest Livestock Programme. It has information about support available and how to sign up for Animal Health Plans, Nutrient Management Plans, Resource Efficiency audit and Performance Grants. There are factsheets with technical information relevant to livestock farmers, reports from demonstration events and farmer group meetings, information about monitor farms and a calendar of events.
You can keep up to date with all this activity through the monthly e-newsletter and have a quarterly printed newsletter posted to you. To sign up for newsletters register with the site. This will also let you use the online booking service to attend demonstration events.
For help with the website and general enquiries:
Phone: Adrian Capstick on 01995 642 206
Email: livestocknw@myerscough.ac.uk
Other RDPE Support available:
The Skills Framework has been developed by Defra and is funded by the EU and UK government and will deliver training and knowledge transfer events nationally until March 2014.
Find out who is delivering training in your area of the North West
