There is support available through the Scottish Government, with the aim of encouraging more new entrants and young farmers to set up and develop profitable, sustainable farming businesses. It encourages them to develop new business opportunities and to make sure that their businesses are modern and make efficient use of the resources available to them. The Scottish Government has a key priority of overcoming barriers to entry and attracting talented people to agriculture.

There are three dedicated funded streams funded through the Scottish Rural Development Programme.

• Young Farmers Start-Up Grant Scheme — Start-up aid to support young farmers with the costs of starting an agricultural business for the first time.
• New Entrants Start-Up Grant Scheme — Start-up aid to support new entrants to farming who have started their agricultural business within the last 12 months.
• New Entrants Capital Grant Scheme — A business improvement grant to help new entrants continue the development of their business.

Guidance for each of the funding streams can be found clicking on the links above. A simple summary of the three grants can be found here.

In addition New Entrants can apply for other funding streams through the SRDP including, LEADER, Forestry Grants, Crofting Grants, Small farms Grant Scheme, Food Processing, Marketting and Co-operation, etc. View details of all the available schemes.