Jack Hughes Fund

The Jack Hughes Fund is named after the late founder of the Herefordshire Proficiency Test Committee (HPTC). Jack Hughes did much to ensure that training was available to the county's farming community, particularly in relation to young farmers. The fund supports 70% of the cost of training up to a maximum of £200 for farmers in Herefordshire. The fund is designed to provide financial aid to farmers aged 18 and over in various training scenarios including retraining or up-skilling for those leaving the industry, training to support new farm diversification enterprises, training or business support for succession planning, and group training sessions. Specific courses covered include safe use of pesticides (PA1, PA2, PA6), rodent control on farms, emergency first aid, food safety (Basic Food Hygiene), and chainsaw maintenance & cross cutting (CS30). Funding must be approved before the start of training and cannot support retrospective applications. The grant is reimbursed after training is completed, so applicants must initially fund the cost themselves. Funding is limited to two applications per year from a family farming business. The average grant award in 2024-25 was £160.