Farming Start-Up

[unlacedgecko]

Okay thank you! Is there a lot of uncertainty with sheep because of Brexit? In what was is that effecting it?

Sheep meat is a commodity. Majority of UK sheep meat is exported, therefore vulnerable to import tariffs overseas.

Depends how big your balls are. Lack of confidence in the sector means breeding stock are cheap right now, down 15-20% on last year's price.

 

[FarmingJourney]

Sheep meat is a commodity. Majority of UK sheep meat is exported, therefore vulnerable to import tariffs overseas.

Depends how big your balls are. Lack of confidence in the sector means breeding stock are cheap right now, down 15-20% on last year's price.

Well it would come down to calculating the risk factor, the higher the risk the higher the reward, but it's something we can look at for sure. Is there not much of a market for selling sheep meat direct to consumer in the UK?
I've seen in America and Europe there are a lot of smaller farms that are selling their poultry, lamb meat and beef direct to consumer for a higher price than the supermarkets. Would that model not work here?

 

[unlacedgecko]

Well it would come down to calculating the risk factor, the higher the risk the higher the reward, but it's something we can look at for sure. Is there not much of a market for selling sheep meat direct to consumer in the UK?
I've seen in America and Europe there are a lot of smaller farms that are selling their poultry, lamb meat and beef direct to consumer for a higher price than the supermarkets. Would that model not work here?

Dunno. I'm a contractor so have zero experience of direct marketing. Depends what your skill set is.

If I had 10 acres of look at B and B pigs are as consistent cash flow option and a means of developing the site.

 

[FarmingJourney]

Dunno. I'm a contractor so have zero experience of direct marketing. Depends what your skill set is.

If I had 10 acres of look at B and B pigs are as consistent cash flow option and a means of developing the site.

Okay thank you! I appreciate your advice

 

[Shorty]

We brought 6 acres 5 years ago, we had a few cattle and wanted a base to run out from, we rent summer grazing, so brought bare agricultural land. We got permission for a 100 x 50 livestock building which we built to accomadate b&b pigs 3 years ago and have since built another the same. We are now doing 1100 wean to finish under contract and this provides us with a good bread and butter income to try and build the rest of our business around. Cash flow is the hardest aspect to most Agri ventures but pigs will bring a monthly payment which is key when starting out. Set up is quite dear but returns are there once up and running.

 

[FarmingJourney]

We brought 6 acres 5 years ago, we had a few cattle and wanted a base to run out from, we rent summer grazing, so brought bare agricultural land. We got permission for a 100 x 50 livestock building which we built to accomadate b&b pigs 3 years ago and have since built another the same. We are now doing 1100 wean to finish under contract and this provides us with a good bread and butter income to try and build the rest of our business around. Cash flow is the hardest aspect to most Agri ventures but pigs will bring a monthly payment which is key when starting out. Set up is quite dear but returns are there once up and running.

Thank you for the response. So are B&B Pigs your main enterprise? So with that agricultural land did it already have old buildings on it that allowed the planning permission? That's something to look out. We were looking at some agricultural land and was wondering if it were possible to put a temporary home on for making managing the land much easier, but I wasnt too sure how that all works? There are a lot of conflicting articles online

 

[Will Wilson]

Do you mind if I ask if you have any formal agricultural training- it's not the be all and end all but that and maybe a job working for someone else for a couple of years might be a good start?

There aren't many businesses you enter without either of the above and farming is no different.

I hope this doesn't sound negative.

Best of luck - let us know how it goes.

 

[FarmingJourney]

Do you mind if I ask if you have any formal agricultural training- it's not the be all and end all but that and maybe a job working for someone else for a couple of years might be a good start?

There aren't many businesses you enter without either of the above and farming is no different.

I hope this doesn't sound negative.

Best of luck - let us know how it goes.

Thank you for your response. That doesn't sound negative, it's a valid comment. If you mean formal training as in college/uni then no, but I have worked on a few different farms in the past to get an idea of the industry as a whole. But farming for us is a completely new industry, almost at the opposite end of another company we own so it will be a huge learning curve. There were a few training courses that I have found that people who are new to farming can join so that will probably be something we do as we start if that makes sense.

 

[Shorty]

Fj pigs are our (wife and I ) main income,bare land with no services when we brought, wife looks after all stock daily and I help out if needed, I still work to top up but we could survive on b&b pigs (1100) while paying bank loan but it wouldn’t be lavish, cattle don’t earn us bugger all in the grand scheme of things but they do pay there way plus a bit. What part of Suffolk are you as we are also Suffolk, if you wanted to have a look and a chat you are welcome to call in, my biggest regret is I spent too long thinking about it and should have done it sooner.

 

[FarmingJourney]

Fj pigs are our (wife and I ) main income,bare land with no services when we brought, wife looks after all stock daily and I help out if needed, I still work to top up but we could survive on b&b pigs (1100) while paying bank loan but it wouldn’t be lavish, cattle don’t earn us bugger all in the grand scheme of things but they do pay there way plus a bit. What part of Suffolk are you as we are also Suffolk, if you wanted to have a look and a chat you are welcome to call in, my biggest regret is I spent too long thinking about it and should have done it sooner.

Yeah, I think initially what we will look to do is keep both of our jobs for as long as possible to keep that extra income coming in and then scale it from there. Do you live on that land now? How was it trying to get planning permission for buildings? That would be very helpful, thank you! Perhaps once we've got our feet on the ground we can arrange something. I will send you a direct message about it.

 

[Shorty]

If you haven’t already got the land then don’t rush in and do your home work on planning rules regarding proximity of neighbors and road access nearest electricity etc ours was bare no services or sheds but power lines pass across. Borehole for water nearest property was 480 m away

 

[FarmingJourney]

If you haven’t already got the land then don’t rush in and do your home work on planning rules regarding proximity of neighbors and road access nearest electricity etc ours was bare no services or sheds but power lines pass across. Borehole for water nearest property was 480 m away

Thank you, I appreciate your help!