We
have developed for our aspiring farmers a template letter for you to edit, hand
write and put in the letterbox of farmers that you would like to work with.
There is so much power in a handwritten letter and
if you get this right, it could be your ticket to farm ownership.
We recommend that anyone who has done their
homework and found a farmer or farmers who they know is looking to step back,
and they are keen to somehow find a farm transition solution for that farmer,
that you try this tactic.
It has to be heartfelt. It has to be real. This is
a big thing you are seeking from the farmer and your reputation is on the line.
So don’t to this lightly, and don’t do this with a mindset that isn’t about a
win-win for both parties.
So here it is - adjusts as you see fit and to your
circumstances and to the specifics of the farm.
And keep us posted with how you go.
Soon all retirement aged farmers will have letters
in their letterbox, every day, so now is the best time to jump onto a great
opportunity as no-one else is doing this.
Dear Mr and Mrs XY,
My name is Lil Arthur. I’m married to Pete Arthur,
and we live in Phil McGregor’s second house just up the road. We haven’t met,
but I have seen you at the cattle yards a few times and have been meaning to
reach out, so I decided to write this letter. My dad is Sam Winter who you may
know from the local butchers and Pete’s family lived in the region about 15
years ago before moving into the big smoke.
We drive past your farm almost every day as we
travel to town for school or to take the kids to sports and always admire the way you run your farm. Particularly we love how well you have the farm laid
out, the health of your cattle and the improvements you’ve made to the shearing
shed.
We are reaching out because we wanted to let you
know of our crazy dreams to one day own or at least share ownership in a
farm.
This might be a bit presumptive, but we wanted to
let you know that if you are looking to step back from the day to day
operations of your farm a bit, that we would love the opportunity to meet and
get to know you and somehow help out. We are open to helping any way we can
because we think you have a great farm operation and we are very keen to keep
pursuing our farming dreams. We also want to find any way to cement ourselves in
the area as we truly consider Meekwood our home.
Both Pete and I have cattle and sheep handling
skills, know how to fence and I have an eye for soil health. Pete is also very
nifty at writing grants as he had a 2-year stint working for the local
government and could help apply for Landcare grants if that was a need. We
would be more than happy to come and help out on an ad hoc basis with fencing,
drenching or any maintenance jobs you have because we are keen to get to know
more great locals like yourself, learn from the best farmers like yourself and
improve our farming skills.
Pete currently works on Mary Johnson’s farm, we
have a 200 acre leased block up on the hill where we run a few head of
Limonsine steers and I work for the local stock feed company 3 days a week. Our
two young boys have also caught the farming bug so we are doing all we can to
find ways to open doors to farm opportunities and to embed ourselves in the
community. I encouraged Pete to take up coaching of the Under 14s which has
really helped us to make connections.
Please let me know if catching up for a cup of tea
or coffee one day might be of interest. I completely understand though if the
timing might not be right and I’ll endeavour to come up and say hi the next
time I see you around town.
Kind regards,
Lil and Pete Arthur
04xx xxx xxx
email@cultivatefarms.com
24 Cultivate Farms St, Meekwood