On 10th October "The Farm Business Advice Service" was set up to give farmers and growers practical business assistance. In the first year £6.5million has been allocated to provide farmers with free one to one farm business advice. The advice will be provided by the Small Business Service through Business Links. In East Anglia the Business Links can be found at King's Lynn, Histon (near Cambridge) Ipswich, Bury St. Edmunds, March and Peterborough among others. One is soon to open in Wisbech after which most of the area covered by Whiting & Partners will be serviced. It will be firms with farm business expertise who will deliver the service and these will be known as Farm Business Advisers.

James Cater, Roger Luckin and Chris Morton, who together head the Whiting & Partners Agricultural Group, have been investigating the possible impact. James Cater commented that the project deserves to be a success. Although it was Whiting & Partners policy to discuss future aspects of clients' businesses, as well as reviewing the past, not all self employed, let alone farmers, have felt the need to discuss these aspects with advisers on a regular basis.

It is to be aimed at farmers and growers with small to medium sized farm businesses that have not previously received mainstream advice. Though it is intended to help them improve their performance it is also intended to help them decide which direction to take. Do they carry on as before, diversify or leave farming altogether?

To ensure the advice being given is to a high standard the Farm Business Advisers will be given initial training and support by the Small Business Service and MAFF. Government Offices will manage the regional budget and the Business Links will be responsible for the delivery of the service, local marketing and the provision of management information.

So what do the farmers do next? They should contact their local Business Link who should have nominated staff who will complete an Initial Inquiry Form to ensure that the farmer or grower is eligible.

Is it really free? The answer is, yes in so far as the initial advice is concerned, though the farmer will need to set aside the necessary time to ensure that all of the relevant information is collated. The farmer will in fact be told exactly what is expected of him/her before the initial meeting. Once the Action Plan is agreed it is likely that the farmer will have to provide resources of time and money to see it through.

This Service is supported by the NFU and could be the single most important initiative that has been taken so far to help the small and medium sized farm.