The Forward Farming Project

The Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food which reported to Government in January 2002 recommended that a pilot network of demonstration farms should be established in England in 2003 to test the effectiveness of different types of demonstration farms and associated activities. This recommendation was accepted in Defra’s Strategy for Sustainable Farming and Food and the ELITE group of agricultural colleges was contracted to run the pilot which was known as the Forward Farming Project.

Defra’s contract required that the pilot should be independently evaluated as it developed so that changes could be made to improve its effectiveness. LUC was sub-contracted to undertake this evaluation, based around detailed analysis of attendance records of events, responses to postal questionnaires and telephone interviews with farmers.

The results of the evaluation contributed to Defra’s Learning, Skills and Knowledge Review in 2004