The UK and Ireland branch of John Deere has announced that The Farming Community Network (FCN) will be its official charity partner for 2026.

FCN's Georgina Lamb with John Deere's Joedy Ibbotson

The commitment will see John Deere staff receive specialist wellbeing support training from FCN, as well as opening the door to a range of volunteering opportunities.

The company also says that thousands of pounds will be raised through fundraising initiatives to help FCN further its reach and impact across the rural community.

“We all have a responsibility to safeguard the health and wellbeing of those living and working in rural areas,” says Joedy Ibbotson, division business manager at John Deere. 

“FCN is a charity that does incredible work in this area. Its outreach touches our staff, our network, our customers, and throughout the communities we operate in. It is a great fit for us and the partnership is something that really resonates with our team.”

The FCN partnership was announced at an all-employee meeting at John Deere’s Langar headquarters in Nottinghamshire.

Georgina Lamb, head of partnerships with FCN, said, “We are delighted to partner with such a well-respected company as John Deere, which as well as providing vital funds for the charity has given us the platform to promote our work to the wider agricultural community. We look forward to working with the team in the coming months.”

As part of the event, staff were trained by FCN with a bespoke course in wellbeing support for the agricultural community.

Joedy added that the organisation was particularly keen to add its reach to the charity’s Nip it in the Bud campaign, which is part of the UK-wide Rural Communities Cancer Project between FCN and Macmillan Cancer Support.

The focus of the campaign is on early detection of cancer and making time to see the GP if someone notices a change in their health.