Devon Farm Business Awards offer farmers in need a helping hand
Money raised by the 2018 Devon Farm Business Awards will be spent by farming charity the Addington Fund to help farmers in need in Devon.
The Awards, which highlight the excellence and dynamism of farming in Devon, are presented at a black tie dinner on the eve of the Devon County Show (May 16) which is set to raise around £8,000.
Now in their fifth year, the Awards have already contributed tens of thousands of pounds to the Addington Fund’s charitable work in the county assisting farmers in desperate need of housing or emergency funds.
Al Brookes, Addington Fund trustee says : “We recognise the situation some farmers find themselves in through no fault of their own and treat them with dignity, respect and discretion.”
The majority of farmers seeking housing assistance are tenant farmers who do not own the land or farmhouse where they live and, when they have to leave, lose both their job and home.
Al added: “Despite a lifetime of commitment to agriculture, the days when selling the machinery and livestock owned by a tenant farmer could fund the purchase of a property, have long gone. In this county, house prices have escalated at a greater rate than livestock values and to be able to retire from farming and fund a home to retire into is unachievable for most.”
In addition, the charity offers emergency grants to farmers in the event of an emergency caused by disease or bad weather and which creates unforeseen additional expenditure.
The Awards are organised by the Addington Fund, the Devon County Agricultural Association and leading regional solicitors Stephens Scown.
