Supporting Farmers Through Agricultural Transition

In 2024, Norfolk FWAG ran our third round of the Farm for the Future programme, delivered in partnership with the Royal Countryside Fund. Funded by Defra’s Farming Resilience Fund, it helped farmers in England tackle challenges and understand the opportunities presented by the agricultural transition. Nationally, the programme was delivered in 18 different locations across England reaching 1,987 farm businesses.

Farm Water Management workshop, May 2024, hosted at Stratton Streles Estate by Norfolk FWAG and Catchment Sensitive Farming.

Programme Delivery in Norfolk

Since we began delivering the programme in 2022, 64 Norfolk farmers have taken part, each accessing expert advice on business resilience and environmental opportunities for their farm.

Additional topic workshops were chosen by participants, offering an in depth look at areas including small woodland management, agroforestry, private finance, farm water management, and diversification and succession planning.

We rounded up the final ever session of the Farm for the Future programme with a Christmas Special: a short SFI update, festive food and a ‘pub quiz’.

Environment workshop, December 2023.

Programme Impact Nationally

Stats from the programme nationally (taken from Royal Countryside Fund review):

91% of farms signed up to the programme were ‘Very small’, ‘small’ or ‘medium’ sized farms

74% of participants felt their businesses were more resilient to change after taking part

81% had improved business planning skills

89% had increased awareness of environmental land management schemes

87% of participants felt better connected to their peers after the programme

Succession planning workshop, December 2024, with Michael Mack, The Rural Consultant, and Lovell Blake.

Deepdale Farm: Responsible Deer Management Balanced with Farming, Nature, and People

Site overview Deepdale Farm was one of the first farms to become involved in the work of Norfolk FWAG’s Norfolk Deer Strategy (NDS), back in July 2025, when Anna and Fiona invited us along to see how the farm was evolving into a haven for nature and people on the

Norfolk FWAG Nature-Based Solutions Case Study: Kirby Cane Hall Farms

Site and event overview Norfolk FWAG held a Nature-based Solutions (NbS) workshop and farm visit on 10 December 2025, based at the Jubilee Hall in Bungay, followed by a visit to Kirby Cane Hall Farms. The event brought together farmers, landowners and representatives from several River Trusts, providing an opportunity

Peatland restoration, Chestnut Farm

Peatlands in the broads: Healthy peatlands are a haven for wildlife, they store carbon in their soils as well as cleaning and storing water in the landscape. The Broads contains a significant amount of England’s lowland peatlands, however approximately one quarter of them are drained for agriculture. When peat is

Farm for the Future Programme

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Sasha Wells