Farmer celebrates HRH The Prince of Wales after support from his Countryside Fund

Emma Billings and her family farm near Louth in Lincolnshire took part in The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme (PFRP), run by The Prince’s Countryside Fund, in 2018. The Prince’s Countryside Fund which is part of The Prince of Wales's Charitable Fund, was established by The Prince of Wales in 2010 and exists to improve the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life.

Emma has shared a photo of her newborn calf with the Fund, saying: “We learnt so much when on The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme. Today I am delighted, as we had the first calf this autumn at Manby Grange. She will be called Manby Grange Royal Highness to celebrate Prince Charles’s birthday!” The team at The Prince’s Countryside Fund were ‘udderly’ delighted to hear that Emma had named her calf after their Patron.

The PFRP brings together like-minded farms in local groups and through a series of workshops gives families the tools to evaluate their viability and long-term sustainability, enabling them to make informed business decisions on their future direction.

Speaking about her experience of the PFRP, Emma said: “I’d like to give a huge thank you to The Prince’s Countryside Fund, their support means a lot, especially in these times. I am lucky to have a son who’s so passionate about the farm and I wanted to say how wonderful the Programme has been for my son’s future. It’s helped us realise how we’ve got to pass things on. “When the coordinators told us about the Programme and said it was free, I thought ‘nothing is for free’ but to give the farming community so much knowledge and not charge us is really appreciated – I would never have received that advice without it.”

ENDS

For further information or interview requests please contact Tessa Berridge, Communications and Events Officer at The Prince’s Countryside Fund on tberridge@countrysidefund.org.uk or 07990 374073.

Notes to Editors

The Prince’s Countryside Fund was established by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2010 and aims to enhance the prospects of family farm businesses and the quality of rural life. We believe that the British countryside is our most valuable natural asset and its contribution to our everyday life cannot be underestimated.

Over the past decade, The Prince’s Countryside Fund has given away over £10 million to more than 350 projects working across the UK which improve service provision in rural areas, support farming businesses and rural enterprises, and provide training opportunities for young people. In short, we look after the people who look after the countryside.

To help support and secure the future of the countryside, we work in a number of ways:

• By providing more than £1m in grant and initiative funding every year to projects across the UK that help to provide a secure future for the countryside.
• Leading initiatives, such as The Prince’s Farm Resilience Programme which offers free business skills training to family farms across the UK.
• Commissioning research into issues affecting farming families and rural communities.
• Being an advocate for the countryside by bringing together individuals and businesses to help tackle current challenges.
• Working with partners to provide exciting schemes for those from rural areas.
• Helping communities in crisis through our Emergency Fund.

To find out more, visit the Fund’s website at www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk