A FARM in Ombersley has been given a £30,000 cash boost which will enable it to become more efficient.
Arnold Farms Ltd is a third generation farming farming business with a strong horticultural production heritage and now, thanks to the LEADER grant, it will be able to ‘plough on’ with a project to improve the way it applies water and fertiliser.
The business farms just over 800 acres with a diverse range of cropping which consists of outdoor and forced rhubarb, dried and fresh herbs, sweetcorn, potatoes and cereals.
The cash received has helped bosses buy a highly accurate GPS fertiliser spreader, a 64metre wide irrigation boom which reduces the water pressure required to operate it over conventional methods and a highly efficient electric irrigation pump and associated pipe work.
The equipment will enable the farm to undertake efficient pumping of irrigation water over 300 acres.
The project will allow Arnold Farms to reduce weather/climate related risks to crop yield and quality allowing it to create a more robust profit margin and employment portfolio throughout the year.
John Baines, Arnold Farms Ltd’s farm manager, said: “The LEADER grant process has been very efficient and straight forward.
“It has help Arnold Farms immensely by enabling an investment planned over ten years to be completed in one year knowing that the full efficiency savings and decreased business risk will be felt straight away.
“Please don`t hesitate to enquire whether the LEADER grant is available to you, it`s definitely worth a go.”
LEADER is part of the Rural Development Programme for England and is delivered locally by Worcestershire County Council and the Worcestershire Local Action Group on behalf of Defra.
It focuses on growing the economies of rural communities by enabling local people to identify and implement solutions to local problems.
The project has received funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development under the Rural Development Programme for England.
Call Katie Ainsworth or Lucy Mayo on 01905 843992/01905 846741 or visit
www.worcestershire.gov.uk/leader for more on the LEADER grant process.
