Our grateful thanks to Colin Downey who recently climbed 5 volcanoes in Equador, raising over £700 for FCN.

Carol Service Supports FCN

Here is the text of the sermon given by Peter Atkinson, Dean of Worcester at our recent Harvest Service.

Farm Crisis Network is a national, Christian based, organisation providing support to members of the farming community. The Group has been operating for over three years and is now well embedded in the Worcestershire farming community.

Our volunteers have been dealing with a wide range of cases – ‘walking with’ people in need and supported by a central office that can access further resources if needed. We also work very closely with other farming charities. In order to maintain this service the Worcestershire Group is looking to recruit a number of volunteers who would be able to support this vital work.

FCN’s work in Worcestershire began in 2007. The County Coordinator is Paul Fardon. Paul’s main career has been with the Fire Service, but he also has a small farm at Upton and is a previous chairman of his local branch of the NFU. Paul is responsible for allocating case work to volunteers when it comes in.

The Group was particularly active in helping farmers after the 2007 floods. Now, a lot of our work is helping farmers sort out Single Farm Payments from the Rural Payments Agency.

We currently have ten volunteers including a Group Chaplain, who are mostly from a farming background. They bring their skills and understanding to the group, backed up by regular training sessions.

We have an exhibition trailer and attend the main agricultural events in the county including the Three Counties Show, Tenbury Show and the Young Farmers’ Rally. At the shows volunteers promote our work and are always available for a chat.

We can be contacted through the national helpline on 0845 367 9990 or by emailing the FCN office on mail@fcn.org.uk.