Online Resources Hub Launched To Help Welsh Farmers

An initiative to help Welsh farmers with their business and personal resilience has been launched today by the Wales Farm Support Group.

FarmWell Wales aims to provide Welsh farmers with the most up-to-date information and details of support services, which can help them and their farm businesses stay strong and resilient through times of change and volatility.

The initiative takes the form of a website (farmwell.wales / farmwell.cymru), a hard copy directory which will be posted out to approximately 16,500 farm businesses across Wales and two short films on personal and business resilience.

The initiative has been created through a joint collaboration between various government bodies and rural support charities including the Welsh Government, the Farming Community Network (FCN), Farming Connect, the DPJ Foundation, Tir Dewi, The Addington Fund, Mind Cymru, Mind Monmouthshire and the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (R.A.B.I).

The website is free for all to use and has three clear aims:

• To help Welsh farmers and agricultural      workers develop and keep their farm businesses resilient through changing      times
• To help Welsh farmers, their families and      their staff to become personally and mentally robust, enabling them to      manage their personal and business lives more effectively
• To provide ready access to a wide range      of support and help to anyone who may need it, including FCN, RABI, the      DPJ Foundation and Tir Dewi.

The directory contains contact details and website information for a wide variety of free and subsidised services available to Welsh farmers.  It is an essential resource for hard-to-reach farmers, those who are not comfortable with modern technology and those who struggle to access rural broadband.

The two films reflect the two aspects of the website, one on personal resilience and the other on business resilience.  Both films are to be shared on social media and will direct to the FarmWell Wales website.

Minister for Environment, Energy and Rural Affairs said:  “We are facing a global public health emergency with the spread of covid-19. This will be a worrying time for families in communities across Wales, especially rural and farming communities. 

“I am pleased FarmWell Wales is available to farmers throughout Wales. It’s an important source of help through at any time but particularly at the moment. I’d like to express my thanks to the members of the Wales Farm Support Group for their hard work in the development of the website and directory.”

To start using FarmWell Wales, simply visit www.farmwell.wales (English) or www.farmwell.cymru (Welsh).