Lincolnshire farms offer choice of size and potential

Farms with both productive agricultural land and diversified income streams are new to the market.

Ranging in size from 90 to 255 acres, and each having potential for further diversification, the new launches present buyers with a range of opportunities.

All are in Lincolnshire, and two farms, which each sit in a ring-fence, are being marketed by Robert Bell & Company.

See also: Wide geographic spread and farmland types on offer

At 255 acres, Wellsyke Farm, near Woodhall Spa, has been farmed by the Laughton family for 50 years.

Initially, it was an outdoor pig enterprise, then latterly used for growing crops including mustard, horseradish, potatoes, and leeks in the sandy loamy soils.

A reservoir with an estimated capacity of 20,000cu m is located centrally and is filled naturally from land drains, offering opportunities for expansion and irrigation, subject to consents.

With a site of special scientific interest (SSSI), ancient woodland and a Wildlife Trust reserve on the boundaries, some of the land has potential for environmental projects.

Two farmyards – at Wellsyke Farm and Clements Farm – have a range of traditional and modern buildings, including a machinery shed and general-purpose store, and some let on a commercial lease.

The farmhouse at Clements Farm is a four-bedroom period property, let on an assured shorthold tenancy (AST).

At Wellsyke Farm, a pair of semi-detached two-bedroom cottages are let on ASTs.

The eight-bedroom farmhouse at Wellsyke Farm is centrally located within a two-acre garden.

The property is being guided at £3.43m and it is also available in two lots.

Diverse income

Furze Hill Farm © Robert Bell & Company

A camping and caravan site generates a secondary income at Furze Hill Farm, a 90-acre grassland farm on the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds, near Hagworthingham.

The mostly Grade 3 grassland is in a Countryside Stewardship scheme with low-input management obligations; the agreement expires on 31 December 2026.

While the sellers are retaining the farmhouse, planning consent has been granted to convert a barn into two dwellings.

Furze Hill Farm, which comes with a landscaped lake stocked with coarse fish species, is for sale at £1.3m.

George Harrison, agricultural director at Robert Bell & Company, says launches like these two are rare in the region.

“In our productive farming area, with many successful family farms, we rarely see many whole farms come to market. It is exciting to have two now available that each suit different purchasers.

“Both are wonderful positions for a home and with environmental potential, with Wellsyke offering versatility and Furze Hill leisure potential.”

Fenland holding

White Home Farm © Savills

At Bardney on Branston Fen, White Home Farm is farmed by the owners on biodynamic principles, a method of farming that developed in the 1920s and takes an holistic, ecological and ethical approach to farming, food and nutrition.

The 94-acre holding has a diverse range of opportunities, from maintaining this farming system to residential and commercial development or environmental initiatives, says Henry King of marketing agent Savills.

“The land under our clients’ custodianship has been farmed in a biodynamic way so as to benefit nature while also leading to lower inputs benefiting the productivity of the farm,” he says.

The Grade 2 rich and deep peat soils are well suited to a rotation that has included cereals, sugar beet and potatoes.

Two farm buildings have historically been used to store grain and machinery, or as livestock housing.

A two-storey oak frame barn has a workshop and garage on the ground floor, while the open-plan first floor has previously been used as an art studio. 

The modern, architect-designed four-bedroom farmhouse has 242sq m of floor space.

White Home Farm is on the market at a guide price of £1.52m.