The Prince of Wales has donated £200,000 through his Countryside Fund to six rural development projects, including Hampshire Fare’s campaign to save the county’s declining pig farmers.

The local food group plan to use the money to help farmers diversify into cured meats, using their share of the Countryside Fund to cover the cost of training staff and developing a new brand of products to be sold at local markets and restaurants, ensuring a sustainable future for Hampshire pork.
Hampshire Fare free-range pig farmer Martin Martindale of Greenfield Pork, who is Hampshire’s reigning Supreme Sausage Champion, said: “We have been involved in the pig industry for some thirty years and during this time we have constantly had to adapt to changing customer demands and the economic climate through diversification into butchery, hog roasting, sausage-making and bacon production.”.

Martin continued: “We now face new economic challenges, particularly in view of the increase in pig feed prices in the last twelve months. Hampshire Fare's project and the grant from the Price's Countryside Fund is great news for specialist pig producers across the county”.

Hampshire Fare Chairman Mike Wright said: “Many of our livestock farmers have long hoped to diversify into cured meats, but say that the cost of training, uncertainty of environmental health requirements and lack of time to investigate the possibilities have proved prohibitive. By uniting our producers and covering their initial training and marketing costs with this grant, we hope to give a real boost to a community in need”.

For more information, visit www.hampshirefare.co.uk.