Prince’s Countryside Fund launches guide to help farmers save money

The Prince’s Countryside Fund has launched a new guide for farmers in response to concerns at the huge increase input costs.

The Great Grazing Guide, unveiled by the charity at the Oxford Farming Conference (OFC), aims to help farmers save money during this difficult time.

Written by pasture experts Precision Grazing, the guide looks at activities and techniques that farmers can adopt to help save money, including how healthy soil can improve pasture and forage, and how famers can improve their soil.

It explores how to make the most of farmyard manure and slurry to improve grazing and save money on concentrate feed, and how to most effectively use artificial fertiliser.

The guide also explains how producers can get the most out of pasture, through the use of herbal leys and techniques such as rotational grazing.

The publication of the guide is in response to the high increase in input costs, notably fertiliser prices, that the industry has experienced over the past year.

Keith Halstead, executive director of the Prince’s Countryside Fund said: “The guide is in response to requests from farmers participating in our resilience programmes who expressed real concerns at the increase in their costs.

"Not only will the ideas contained in this guide help save money at this very difficult time, but they will also enable farmers to work with nature on their farm by focusing on the importance of healthy soil."

The guide looks at a range of techniques and methods, including those from regenerative and grazing management techniques.

It outlines how farmers can work with nature and their on farm assets to save money by reducing their use of and reliance on artificial fertiliser and concentrate feed, whilst maintaining or increasing the productivity of their farm.

Case studies from farms who have made changes to their fertiliser and feed use are included in the guide.

It also includes checklists to help farmers plan activities that might work on their farm in the short, medium, and long term to save money, and maintain or increase productivity.

The guide is the latest initiative between the Prince’s Countryside Fund and McDonald's UK, who formed a three-year partnership in 2020.