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Know How / Diversification

The income generated by diversification is a vital component of many farming businesses – but it can involve unfamiliar planning, legal, staffing, plus health and safety issues.

This page offers tips and advice to guide you through your diversification journey. You’ll find information to help you to set up and run a thriving new enterprise on your farm.

Key areas of focus:

  • Inspirational farm diversification case-studies
  • Opportunities for grant support
  • Avoiding legal and tax pitfalls
  • Successful staff management
  • Business planning and marketing strategies

Case studies

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DIVERSIFICATION

Fruit grower turns waste products into business venture

Farmers Weekly's 2024 Diversification Farmer of the Year winner, Annabel Makin-Jones, has built a sustainable business model, which maximises the use of by-products to reduce costs and waste. The Yorkshire-based…

ARABLE

How trees helped Notts farmer broaden arable business

Diversifications such as agroforestry could prove to be a lifesaver for some arable businesses facing a sharp reduction in Basic Payment Scheme income. Here, a Nottinghamshire farmer outlines his decade…

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Why blueberries are working well for Northants arable farm

The search for a diversification project that could make use of an existing irrigation abstraction licence, along with a desire to support the next generation, led to the Mee family…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Vending machine provides growth for Transition farmers

Average direct sales of 140 litres a day is a drop in the 16,000-litre ocean of milk produced daily at Tom and Karen Halton’s dairy farm, Halton Farm in Congleton,…

BUSINESS

FW Awards 2024: Diversification Farmer of the Year

Annabel Makin-Jones of Sturton Grange, West Yorkshire, is Farmers Weekly's 2024 Awards Diversification Farmer of the Year. A keen eye and determination has enabled Annabel Makin-Jones to build a successful…

DIVERSIFICATION

How diversification can offer route to succession

The range of enterprises on the Williams family’s 81ha farm on the outskirts of the Cornish village of St Agnes demonstrates their entrepreneurial approach, incorporating a willingness to take calculated…

Practical advice

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DIVERSIFICATION

Tax and legal considerations for farm diversifications

The tax and legal considerations for alternative enterprises depend very much on the type of enterprise and how it sits within or separately from the farming business.  One of the…

DIVERSIFICATION

What's hot and what's not in the farm diversification market

It is a tall order to maintain a quality offering while managing rising costs, but it’s a balance which many diversified farm businesses are having to strike. Those with a…

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Renters' Rights Bill: What it means for rural landlords

The Renters’ Rights Bill (RRB) is making its way through Parliament, including much of what was laid out by the previous government in its Renters’ (Reform) Bill, which never made…

DIVERSIFICATION

Farm-based holiday providers face a tough 2025

Farm-based holiday providers are dealing with a significant shift in market dynamics because of a combination of tax and regulatory reforms, and a change in the shape of demand. Short…

ARABLE

Tips on achieving healthy hedgerows on farm

Hedges are a defining feature of our countryside and one of the best habitats for wildlife on any farm.  Far more than being a boundary, they also support farm business…

FARM ENERGY

How a landowner consortium can secure a better solar deal

Collaborating with neighbours could help farmers and landowners strengthen their negotiating position when looking to rent land to developers for large-scale solar projects. Shropshire-based consultant Rob Paul of RP Rural…

Insights

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DIVERSIFICATION

Why holiday lets must show super service for IHT relief

Farmers with holiday lets are being warned to closely examine their business structure to give themselves the best chance of eligibility for a key tax relief. The warning from advisers…

DIVERSIFICATION

Why Barnsgrove is a farm diversification with a difference

Jo and James Butler decided to sell their dairy herd 16 years ago and began mulling what to do with the dairy site, which is about a mile from their…

GRANTS

Rural England Prosperity Fund for diversifications extended

The Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) has been extended for another year, with £33m available to fund projects which will improve local infrastructure or support businesses in rural areas looking…

FARM ENERGY

Clean power push brings grid reform and shifts site demand

In an effort to progress towards the government’s target of a net-zero energy grid by 2030, reforms taking effect now mean that for a grid connection application to proceed, developers…

DIVERSIFICATION

How a wine business managed challenges of expansion

Halfpenny Green Wine Estate at Bobbington in Staffordshire is run by husband-and-wife team Clive and Lisa Vickers. The 20ha holding has grown from a hobby area of vines planted in…

FARM ENERGY

Analysis: The pros and cons of solar farm development

The sun may be noticeable by its absence at this time of year, but the row about the pros and cons of solar farms rages on. According to guidance issued…

DIVERSIFICATION

Innovative camping brings in cash for low or no input

The staycation market has boomed in recent years, with rural holidays getting a boost as Covid restrictions meant travel abroad was still banned or shunned by many. The boom prompted…

FARM ENERGY

Could agrivoltaics address the food v fuel debate?

The integration of cropping with solar panels is almost non-existent in the UK, but it is the basis of the concept of agrivoltaics. First conceived by German physicists in the…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Transition: Ways to generate non-farming income

Developing non-agricultural income is an increasingly important consideration for farm businesses. And it doesn’t always have to come at the expense of food production, as speakers at a recent Farmers…

DIVERSIFICATION

Late bookings and high expectations in farm holiday market

Farm-based holiday accommodation providers are feeling the impact of policy changes, the weather and the cost-of-living crisis. David Brown, a director with Farm Stay UK, which represents more than 400…