The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will provide £1.6m in funding for training projects to help farmers improve farm animal health and welfare.
Twenty-seven projects across the country have already received funding for farm health planning events and initiatives including farmer training, workshops and the development of farm health planning ‘champions’.
Ben Bradshaw, minister for Animal Health and Welfare, said proactive farm health planning led to profitability and sustainability for farms.
“Disease is not inevitable, and we hope to see real improvements across the industry as a result of this joint initiative between government and industry,” he said. “I look forward to seeing these exciting projects get up and running over the coming months.”
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Tony O’Loughlin from the St David’s Farm Practice in Exmouth, said: “My aim is to ensure that all our farms have a working Herd Health Plan in place within the next 12 months.
“We will be setting up farmer discussion groups to share information, with lectures at local agriculture colleges to increase awareness among young farmers.”
