STORIES WE LOVE
A couple in their seventies stepped back without selling the farm
By Sam Marwood
Story from FarmingUK, 4 September 2024
Every now and then I find a story that shows exactly what we're about at Cultivate Farms: real people finding a way to keep a farm working and bring someone new onto it. I share them here because seeing it done by others makes it real. Here's one I love.
From FarmingUK, 4 September 2024: "Joint venture solves retirement dilemma at Welsh upland farm", by the FarmingUK Team. Read the full story at farminguk.com.
Why I love it
A couple who'd farmed the same upland block all their working lives got to their seventies with nobody in the family to take it on. They didn't want to sell and they didn't want to stop. So they kept the farm and handed the running of it to an aspiring farmer in his twenties who'd already lambed and shorn their flock.
What I love is how ordinary the first step was. They'd watched him work for two years and could see he was enterprising. A contract farming agreement started in April 2024, three years to begin with, and he brought his own small flock of ewes with him, one he'd started as a boy.
Why it matters for towns like ours
Most farmers in their seventies reckon the choice is sell up or keep going until something gives. This couple found a third way. They still own the farm. The heavy work is someone else's job now, and they've got the certainty of knowing where the place is headed and the pleasure of watching a new farmer try his own ideas. A matchmaking service paid for the business planning and the legal side, and got everyone talking about what they each wanted out of an agreement.
One step you could take
Think about who's worked on your place in the last couple of years, and pick the one you'd trust with a season. Three years is long enough to prove it and short enough to change. Read how to step back without selling in our Ageing on Farm guide.
I share these stories because each one shows it can be done, by ordinary farming families, in places like yours. If you know a story like this, or you're living one, I'd love to hear it.