STORIES WE LOVE
More people want a share farm than there are farms on offer
By Sam Marwood
Story from Sustainable Food Trust, 25 October 2023
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 Sustainable Food Trust, 25 October 2023: "Share farming: A way forward for new entrant farmers", by Steph Wetherell. Read the full story at sustainablefoodtrust.org.
Why I love it
I love this story because it says out loud what we see. In the UK, the average farmer is 60, and about 40 percent are over 65. Many have no succession plan. Land prices are high, and buying a farm is out of reach for many. The writer looks at share farming, where a new farmer and a landowner share the risk and the income.
In Wales, a support program has helped set up a number of these arrangements. Its succession facilitator has more than 300 people on her list looking for opportunities, but not enough farmers willing to offer their farms. One man there started with little capital. He now manages a flock of 2,000 ewes on 300 acres with two partners, and owns 5 percent of the company.
Why it matters for towns like ours
The facilitator says the biggest barrier is landowners' lack of interest. The article adds that limited knowledge of the model can cause challenges, especially for land agents used to ordinary leases. That's a gap we can help close, one conversation at a time.
One step you could take
If you own a farm and your family won't take it on, ask a succession adviser what a shared risk, shared income arrangement could look like for yours. Read how share farming works 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.