Hundreds of farmers have rushed to sign up to a radical new scheme to buoy up the county's agriculture.

Some 365 farmers have got in touch with the Farming Connect Cumbria programme in the three weeks since it went live to take advantage of its free business advice and £6.7 million worth of grants.

"It's a very high response in just a few weeks," said Nancy Tweddell, of the Cumbria Rural Enterprise Agency, which is administering the scheme. "Farmers are asking for everything from straight forward advice on how to deal with the cross compliance rules coming with the new single farm payment to grants for improving slurry systems."

Regeneration agency Rural Regeneration Cumbria is staging an official launch of the aid package at the Westmorland County Show in the National Farmers' Union marquee.

RRC has developed the four-year programme in response to farmers' calls for help to keep farming and not more diversification grants.

It is being backed by North West Development Agency cash and will provide farmers with business and environmental advice, technical and marketing guidance and support for grant applications.

RRC believes it will safeguard 750 jobs, provide almost 1,600 businesses with advice and help at least 200 business start-ups or expansions.

Agricultural programme manager Richard Lancaster said Farm Connect would ensure Cumbria's farming sector did not stagnate in the wake of the massive subsidies shake-up that starts next year with the introduction of the single farm payment (SFP). The SFP replaces subsidies linked to production with a payment based on land area instead.

"We produce the best products in the world bar none but we have to improve the way we do it. This is the catalyst to help us do that, to help farmers move their businesses forward."

A team of 38 advisors will be going out to farms helping farmers draw up business plans for the future. Among them is Barbon sheep and beef farmer and part-time Cumbria Farm Link advisor John Pedley. He has already carried out two visits as part of Farm Connect.

"The scheme should raise awareness among farmers that their business needs to be looked at in light of the new farm payments. Farmers can't get by sticking their heads in the sand and saying I'm going to carry on as I did before'. It's not going to work."

He said he hoped to help farmers improve their efficiency which may make the farm viable on its own but could also free up time to generate income through second jobs or via diversification schemes.

NFU vice president Peter Kendall will give Farming Connect the official send off next Thursday followed by speeches from RRC chairman Charles Woodhouse, Richard Lancaster and Bob Clark of CREA.