Diversification

At the recent Farm to Fork Summit at No10 Downing Street, attended by Clarkson’s Farm stars Kaleb Cooper and ‘Cheerful’ Charlie Ireland, the Prime Minister set out ambitions to cut down red tape and make it easier for UK farmers to diversify their incomes, such as by converting farm buildings into shops or restaurants.

Biodiversity is an increasingly hot topic within the agricultural sector. Stuart Holm, arable farmer and outreach manager at the Woodland Trust, shares his approach to improving farm resilience and biodiversity on his land.

Having sold his international pig breeding business in 2014, Jeremy Barber and his wife Sarah diversified into holiday lets and have managed to achieve consistently high bookings and customer reviews. We spoke to them to find out the secret to their success.

Farmers in England could miss out on much-needed revenue from agritourism this year due to the UK’s planning system failing to deliver decisions on time, according to outdoor accommodation specialist Pitchup.com.

At a conference hosted by Scrutton Bland earlier this year, Kerriann McLackland from the Environment Bank talked about the various ways farmers can capitalise on creating and selling biodiversity net gain (BNG) units to developers, while still receiving income from BPS and environmental schemes.

A Scottish farmer with a passion for nature has created a 100-acre wildlife corridor by transforming his land with new, native broadleaf trees through The Woodland Trust’s MOREwoods scheme. Increasing farm biodiversity was core to Chris’ project goals.

As British farms increasingly look to generate new income streams, Farmers Guide spoke to Gloucestershire farmer Rees Keene about how he juggles multiple diversifications including pumpkins, Christmas trees, a farm shop, catering and hosting events.

Farmers who run caravan, camping, and glamping sites have said the rise in agritourism is playing a vital role in educating people about where their food comes from.

A recent Irish study argues women in the farm sector have played a key role in the growth of agrotiurism by being more open to farm diversification and going beyond the “productivist” type of thinking in agriculture.

With low levels of activity in children and young people being a major health concern, two paediatric physiotherapists have teamed up with a Dorset farm park to create a new children’s book.

Following the launch of a consultation on whether to permanently extend permitted development rights (PDR), we spoke to Pitchup founder Dan Yates to find out what this could mean for British farmers who are hoping to diversify this summer.

The UK government has launched a consultation into permanently extending permitted development rights (PDR) for tent camping from 28 days to 60 days for farmers and landowners in England.