rural diversification

Hello! I am looking for 4-20 acres of land to rent, ideally grassed and with road access. I will pay up to £100 per acre to run our small eco friendly business from the land. I rent from another farmer at the moment and have done so for 5 years and he will provide excellent references. No...

Hi there, I run an outdoor activities business in South Wales and I'm looking for an area of woodland and/or a barn / farm building to rent. I'd be really interested to have a chat with anyone who's interested in working with us. Here's some more info about what we're looking for and some info...

1. Couple diversify family farm to 'his and her' projects, Buckinghamshire For Ted and Jackie Howard-Jones inheriting the family farm in 2005 provided the opportunity to capitalise on its stunning location and practical facilities to establish multiple business ventures. Click here to read their...

Nestled in the heart of the Chilterns in Buckinghamshire, Cholsey Grange Farm was once home to Ted’s parents who ran it as a working farm with alternative income streams. “The farm itself has been through many changes with my father in charge. Being a 200-acre farm, it was once a dairy farm...

The old lambing shed at Mosley Hall farm now plays home to a state-of-the-art farm shop and café with an in-house deli and butchers. The desire to diversify to help supplement the farm business, providing an additional income as well as more jobs for family members, has seen the creation of a...

Being in the right place at the right time, has contributed to the success of Pembrokeshire BioEnergy, however there is no denying that Paul and Emma Ratcliffe have worked hard and spotted opportunities to get to where they are today. The couple were farming beef, sheep and arable, alongside...

In the space of 11 years, Duncan and Vicki McConchie have created four complementary businesses, with a collective turnover of £1.5 million, all of which have been born out of identifying and meeting the needs of the market. The McConchie’s family history The story starts in 1911 when Duncan’s...

Farm diversification to find new income streams should be an important consideration amid the uncertainties of Brexit was the key message from The Country Land and Business Association (CLA) Diversification Demystified seminar. More than 100 landowners and rural businesses across East Anglia...

UK Agricultural Finance (UKAF) has announced that it has secured important funding from one of the UK’s leading institutional investors. The investment will allow UKAF to build on the success of its bridge finance offering, to provide much needed term funding for the rural community. This...

Bruce's Doggy Day Care is searching for land to rent within close proximity to affluent areas in the South East of England. They offer an opportunity for landowners to generate a good return from land and buildings, particularly underutilised assets. The ideal site will be between 1 and 25...

The shortlist for this year’s British Farming Awards has been announced in what has been described as a record-breaking year for the event. With the awards now in its sixth year, there are 15 categories open to entrants recognising the core farming sectors, as well as acknowledging the wealth...

Official statistics from Visit Britain, the Government’s tourism body, show that in the first nine months of 2017, there was a record 12.7 million visits to English regions outside London. People are waking up to what the British countryside has to offer, and it’s more than just a weekend in the...

Identifying opportunities in contracting The first step in identifying an opportunity is to know your region. Regions will have criteria that dictate what farming enterprises are suitable and therefore, what contracting opportunities may be present. The second step is to look at the issues that...

Rhug Estate near Corwen in North Wales has made retail history this week opening the first on-farm drive-thru. The Denbighshire farm estate is renowned for its quality organic meat that includes wild bison and Japanese Sika deer, and suppliers some of the UK’s finest restaurants. But, in a...

With Brexit on the horizon, farmers will no doubt be starting to think about how they need to shape their business over the next few years to ensure they can ride the wave of a changing market and the consequential volatility, reduced direct support and a changed regulatory framework to work...

Below are examples of the ‘assets’ that are worth considering before making the decision to diversify. Land availability Whether it’s owned or let, farmers are blessed with the land they have access to. Traditionally, land would have either been used for cropping, grazing or for countryside...

1. Examine the core farm business Before committing to a new project, consider if there is a way of developing the farm business meaning diversification isn’t totally necessary at the current time. Have you taken the time to look in-depth at the performance of the farm on an...

With fluctuating milk prices resulting in uncertain returns for many dairy farmers, July 2017 saw Jack Martin launch a new business, Tom Parker Creamery, to help spread risk and improve financial return. Jack’s ‘can do’ attitude and self-motivation means that the business he has developed...

When the Fairs family bottled their first batch of cold pressed rapeseed oil in 2004 they never envisaged that over a decade later they would be producing 520,000 litres and hillfarm oils would be a growing household name. In the beginning The story began in 2004 when Sam Fairs wanted to...

The Suffolk Agricultural Association (SAA) is encouraging farm businesses to enter its Best Alternative Land Enterprise (BALE) award. Now in its 27 year, the BALE award is open to all farm businesses in Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex and recognises and rewards imaginative and...