Cash-strapped hill farmers are being offered a free lifeline to help them improve their beef cattle and sheep, in a scheme worth nearly £2,000 to each of them.

The go-ahead for the funding of the Bodmin Moor Healthy Livestock Project has just come through from Rural Development Programme for England – a scheme worth £260,000 spread over three years, which should see 100 farmers on the moor receiving hands-on advice from vets.

Though the funding has only just come through, 25 Bodmin Moor farmers have already signed up for membership and a further 15 are showing interest, but project co-ordinator Ed Nancekivell hopes more will come forward so that it is fully subscribed by the time there are national financial reviews next month.

"This could prove the vital tool for success for so many moorland farmers," said Mr Nancekivell, who heads the Bodmin Moor Livestock Initiative, of which the new project has become part.

"This gives them the opportunity to join a scheme that could drastically improve their beef herds and sheep flocks, without them having to spend a penny on it."

Upland farmers on the Westcountry's three moors are currently suffering from low prices for their livestock – and the situation is exacerbated by the ending of the Hill Farm Allowance subsidy, which is being replaced by a Stewardship Scheme, designed specifically for moorland producers.

Once registered with the new Bodmin Moor Healthy Livestock Project, farmers will qualify for a free, detailed three-hour visit by a vet to establish their farm's potential, using a number of "tools" – including blood screening for the livestock diseases of bovine virus diarrohea, leptospirosis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis and Johne's Disease.

Eight vets' practices have signed up for the project, which will also see free veterinary advice being given to farmer members in both the second and third years.

Mr Nancekivell added: "The livestock sector on the moor is under a variety of pressures and this scheme is centred around the diagnostic work of vets, with the aim that their advice and knowledge could make all the difference to the fortunes of producers."

He put together the project last winter, with the help of a steering group of farmers and vets but there have been teething problems. For example, no one actually knows how many cattle are in the 17 parishes on Bodmin Moor.

"Now we're up and running and we want all 100 farmers who are eligible to join us," Mr Nancekevill added.

"The advice the vets can offer through this project should enable them to add value to their product and make their farms a whole lot more profitable."