With increasing costs and increasing pressures on farms, you might be thinking of ways to diversify but aren’t sure where to start. That’s certainly the situation we’re in at the moment. Subsequently, we’ve been looking into farm diversification options to see how we can secure the long term future of the farm.
ABOUT OUR FARM
We live on a farm in South Wales (UK) and moved back here in 2020 before the birth of our son. Surprisingly, the earliest records for the farm date back to the 1640s. Therefore, we are really keen to safeguard the financial future of the farm as best we can.
We have approximately 11 acres of grassland with a small flock of Black Welsh Mountain Sheep. In addition to this we have two donkeys, three ducks, two chickens, two cats and a dog. It’s a mixed bunch of animals but it’s a good variety too.
DO YOU MAKE A LIVING FROM YOUR FARM?
At the moment, we don’t make a living off the farm but it’s our dream to change that. As you can imagine, we would all love to give up our jobs and work 100% from, but we are a few years away from doing that. This is why we have been seriously looking into farm diversification options for the future.
WHAT IS FARM DIVERSIFICATION?
The National Farmers Union describes farm diversification as “innovative ways to use assets to create diverse revenue streams and spread risk”. In a nutshell, this means, don’t put all your eggs in one basket and look for other sources of income. Obviously every farm is different, so there can never be a ‘one size fits all approach’. That’s part of the reason why we’ve started working with a Farming Connect Mentor to help guide our farm diversification journey. Read on for our big five ideas, some of which we’ve started, other’s we’re working on and some we’re thinking about for the future.
1. MOTORHOME AIRE
Setting up a Motorhome Aire is a great low-cost option for farm diversification. An ‘Aire’ is a designated area where self-contained campervans or motorhomes can stop over for a couple of nights. There’s a growing network of Aires in the UK that provide either no services (like ours) or services such as water and waste disposal (grey and / or black). All you need to get started is a level patch of land, a licence (no planning permission required), a bit of marketing and away you go!
We were inspired to set up a Motorhome ‘Aire’ on the farm due to our love of Campervan trips. When we go away, either in the UK or Europe, we often seek out ‘Aires’ rather than traditional campsites. We set up our own Aire in August 2023 and it’s been really popular. Amazingly, we’ve had visitors from as far as Germany, the Isle of Man and various locations in England and Wales. To learn more about setting up a Motorhome Aire, see our separate blog post on Everything You Need To Know About Setting Up A Profitable Motorhome Aire.
2. GLAMPING PODS
If you’ve searched for farm diversification already, you might have already come across glamping as a suggestion. Obviously it requires having a suitable parcel of land, planning permission and some investment. However, we’ve been inspired to set up a glamping business here after visiting the Glamping Show near Kenilworth a couple of years ago. Not surprisingly, there were lots of ideas for farm diversification with shepherds huts, glamping pods, bell tents and a whole host more.
This is something that we are going ahead with this year (2024). We’ve decided to go for luxury pods, but there are lots of more affordable options in the glamping market to choose from. We’ll be blogging about our glamping plans as we make progress. In the meantime, check out the services of Glampitect who will be leading on our planning application.
3. FARM MEAT BOXES
If you have livestock, this might be something you’re doing already. It’s certainly something we want to look into more, so we’ve been searching for a local licensed abattoir who can prepare some of our lambs for sale in meat boxes. On the whole, this farm diversification plan involves very low start up costs. We’re still researching this idea but from what we’ve read from others that are doing it, there is a better profit margin than traditional wholesale at the market.
We’re aware that it could take time to build up a good, local customer base but we’re confident that we can gain interest quickly. In addition to this, we know that marketing will be important either through a farm website and / or social media channels. Definitely one to consider!
4. EVENT SPACES
When we talk about running events at the farm, people automatically assume…weddings. However, this isn’t for us. Whilst we’ve got a large barn that could potentially be converted into a wedding venue, hosting large groups of people into the early hours of the morning isn’t for us. But, hosting smaller community groups and doing passion projects and workshops is a different story. Obviously there would be the costs of renovating an event space, planning permission and a profitable business plan, but it’s another farm diversification idea that features in our long term plans.
5. ANIMAL ACCOMMODATION
Setting up dog kennels or horse stables is another farm diversification idea that we’ve given some consideration to. Whilst it’s not a top priority for us, its something that we may come back to in the future. It would be relatively easy to set up with a medium-sized investment for facilities and would still fit with the values of the farm. Also, it wouldn’t need a huge parcel of land.
THE WAY FORWARD
For us, our priority this year is to establish a Glamping business to build upon our successful Motorhome Aire project, We know that this project will take quite a bit of time, energy and finance, but we’re committed to it and are excited by its potential.
WANT TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS?
Feel free to connect with us on social media using any of the links below:
We would also LOVE to hear about your own farm diversification ideas so please do reach out and say hi!