Give it some ‘welly’ for struggling farmers

IT’S been a difficult year for many in farming. From January to August, the farming charity, Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), received 582 new referrals. That’s 582 individuals and families contacting us for the first time, seeking help.

We have given out £1.52m this year, including more than £318k to working families. Each request for assistance is different, so we tailor the support we give.

We help people like council tenant farmer Tom, who lost 400 sheep last winter due to the bad weather. His income was down £30k on the previous year and he was struggling to pay household bills. We sent him a cheque for £3k to help with domestic debts so he and his family could get back on their feet.

The work we do makes a difference, but we can’t do it on our own. That’s why we’re holding Welly Week from Saturday, October 27, to Sunday, November 4, to raise awareness of us and what we do.

We’d like people to wear wellies to work, post photos on social media and tell people all about it using the #wellyweek2018 hashtag.

We’ll also be giving a pair of Grubs boots away each day in an online competition.

If you can make a donation, it would be greatly appreciated. Go to www.rabi.org.uk/donate to find out how. Every donation, no matter how small, enables us to continue supporting farming people in financial hardship.

We hope you’ll stand up for British farmers this October by getting behind our Welly Week campaign. Thank you. Paul Burrows, RABI chief executive