THE Farmer Network is offering support to 18 to 30-year-olds in Cumbria and the Yorkshire Dales who have a farming-related business idea that they want help to explore.

Potential candidates will be helped with thinking through the idea of self-employment; training in business skills; support for test marketing; business planning; start-up funding; and ongoing support from a business mentor.

The course is delivered by The Farmer Network for youth charity The Prince’s Trust, and has been made possible by the additional support of The Prince’s Countryside Fund.

In Cumbria, five groups of between seven and 10 young people have benefitted from the fund over the past three years.

A total of 22 young people have received funding and others have benefitted from the one to one business advice available.

Of these, three now have tenancies, others have contracting businesses undertaking fencing, farm machinery repair, delivering sheep related services and some are building up stock numbers to enable them to take on tenancies when opportunities arise.

Applications are invited for a further group of eager entrepreneurs in early 2015.

For more details contact Kate Gascoyne 01768-881462, 07548-934282, kate@thefarmernetwork.co.uk