- Getting onto the farming ladder is hard!
- Very expensive, lots of up front costs.
- Opportunities on county council farms and others.
- All comes down to finance.
As harvest kicks off around the country, it got me thinking about what it takes to become a farmer.
For someone without family ties (or a lottery win!), entering the farming sector is challenging, to say the least. The average age of a farmer in the UK is around 60, with 30% of all farmers aged over 65. From a food security perspective alone, it's never been more important to bring fresh blood (and ideas) to the farming sector.
However, particularly if you want to grow crops, getting onto the farming ladder is nearly impossible. New entrants need to content with the almost prohibitive price of farmland, along with the vast cost of machinery required (some tractors and combine harvesters cost more than a house).
Whilst allowing more people to start farming is a nice idea in itself, there is a serious issue here. Fresh thought and diversity of thinking & experience is absolutely vital if the farming sector is going to tackle the challenges it's facing and continue to feed us sustainably.
I'm lucky to work with some of the most forward thinking and pioneering farmers in the country. However, farming is all too often constrained by tradition, which can hinder necessary change. A balance is needed between collective shared wisdom and knowledge of the land, passed down through generations and new techniques or mindsets.
I've lost count of the number of times I've heard farmers say "Well, we've always done it this way" as a justification for an action. Unfortunately this isn't going to cut it any more. Given the impact that food production has on the environment and the unique opportunity it also has, to help tackle climate change, every single management decision needs to be justified from an environmental and economic perspective.
However, whilst it's challenging for new entrants, it's not totally impossible. Near Oliver's Muesli HQ on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border, Cambridgeshire County Council still owns over 100 farm holdings, that were originally intended to help new entrants into the farming sector. Uniquely, the council are actually investing in the farmed estate, where most local authorities have been busy selling theirs off.
There are also opportunities around share farming, where a farmer looking to retire or move away from the business, can offer a new entrant the change to get their foot on the farming ladder, via a share in their business. Being involved in farming, doesn't always have to be about driving tractors though. Forward-thinking farmers like Tim May at Kingsclere Estate are offering investment and partnership opportunities for businesses to come and join the estate*.
Ultimately though, it all comes down to capital. Farmers only get paid once a year at harvest time, so for the rest of the year, cash flow is challenge. If you're starting out, before that first harvest, there are some major upfront costs involved in getting a crop established.
Even to rent a council holding, you'd need to pay rent from day one, whilst also paying for all the other costs. This leaves new farmers with the choice of obtaining costly finance, or else trying to set out on a shoe string budget. Amazingly, people manage to do this and I have nothing but admiration for enterprising individuals who have traded in their day job and salary, to start a farming business.
Anyway, I can't prattle on about farming, without putting my money where my mouth is, so watch this space. Come harvest 2024, maybe some of your muesli ingredients will have been grown by yours truly!
*Tim is one of the nicest, friendly and considerate people I've met in the farming sector. He's also an amazing farmer. If you get a change to visit, do.