HOW TO SET

UP A
FARMSTART
A handbook for
establishing and running
an incubator farm site
 PURPOSE OF
THE GUIDE
This guide has been produced
by the Landworkers’ This guide is aimed at people and
Alliance, in partnership with organisations who want to set up
OrganicLea, Tamar Grow Farmstarts, or farm incubation
Local and the Kindling Trust, sites. With it we aim to provide
with support from the Joseph a set of best practice guidelines,
Rowntree Charitable Trust. based on the experiences of
established organisations.

Alongside this handbook we

are establishing a network of
Farmstart organisations that can
share experiences and support
one another in the spirit of
mutual aid and solidarity. By
working together and sharing
experiences earnt through years
of work, we hope to support other
organisations and increase the
opportunities available to new
entrants.

You can find more information on

the Landworkers’ Alliance website
www.landworkersalliance.org.uk/
Contents
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Setting the context 2
1.2. Why a Farmstart? 4
1.3. What is a Farmstart? 4
1.4. History of Farmstarts 5
2. DESIGNING A
FARMSTART
2.1. Mapping the landscape and deciding
the aim 7
2.2. Land and Tenancies 8
2.3. Training and mentoring 9
2.4. Access to Markets 11
2.5. Equipment and infrastructure 12
2.6. Progression 12
3. SETTING UP A
FARMSTART
3.1. Start-up Costs 13
3.2. Setting up your site 13
4. RUNNING A
FARMSTART
4.1. Managing Applications 14
4.2. Cost to applicants 15
4.3. Encouraging Collaboration and
Community Engagement 15
4.4. Staffing your Farmstart 16
4.5. Ongoing Costs 16
5. WHERE NOW?
5.1. Funding your Farmstart 17
5.2. Using the Farmstart network 17
CASE STUDIES
Case Study: Tamar Grow Local 18
Case Study: OrganicLea 19
Case Study: Kindling Trust 20
Case Study: Stream Farm 22
Case Study: Stroud Community
Agriculture  23
1. Introduction
1.1. Setting the context being lost if not passed on to a new generation,
but it also indicates a decreasing resilience in
The UK urgently needs a new generation of the sector. Farmers over retirement age are
farmers. We face an aging farming population often less able or willing to adapt to changes in
and an economic situation where many would- policy, environmental conditions and economic
be farmers are effectively locked out by a shocks.
number of interconnected barriers to entry.
To make matters worse, these issues come at In the context of climate change, the food and
a time when farming needs to innovate and farming system in the UK is responsible for
restructure to increase its environmental around 20% of our greenhouse gas emissions,2
and social resilience, reduce its energy but our food system’s climate footprint spreads
use and greenhouse gas emissions, and to 30% when we take into account the impact
increase domestic production on sustainable of land use change from imported foods. We
foundations. currently have a trade gap of £24.4 billion in
food, feed and drink, indicating a considerably
In 2017 a third of all farm holders in the UK larger impact though imports.
were over the typical retirement age of 65
years and the proportion of young people aged On top of climate and environmental challenges
less than 35 years was around 3%.1 This aging we also face a crisis in access to food. To
farm population is increasing at a significant conform with dietary guidelines our fruit and
rate. Since 2005 the proportion in the 35- veg consumption needs to increase by 64%,
3

44 years old band has decreased by 5% and but many people are already suffering severe
the proportion in the oldest band, 65 years food insecurity and experiencing decreasing
and over, has increased by the same amount. access to healthy food. The UN estimates that
Not only does the increasing age of farmers 4.2% of the population, or 2.7 million people
correspond to a wealth of knowledge that risks are experiencing severe food insecurity, the
second highest percentage in Europe.4

1. Agriculture in the UK 2017

2. Garnett, T. (2008). Cooking up a Storm: Food, greenhouse gas emissions and our changing climate. The Food and Climate Research Network, Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey.
3. The Eatwell Guide, Public Health England in association with the Welsh government, Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland.
4. The Food Foundation. Farming for 5-a-day

2
In response to these challenges, the is often difficult, expensive and stressful to
Landworkers’ Alliance advocates for a gain for small agroecological farms, including
widespread uptake of agroecological farming critically the right to live on site.
systems that can combine food production
with environmental and social benefits. This Start up costs are also high, and many new
includes the development of a food strategy entrants are unable to make use of commercial
based on food sovereignty, a vision that business loans because of the high costs and
localises our food system and puts control over low returns of agroecological farming. As a
the important decisions back in the hands of consequence, many of those who start farms
producers and communities. do so with substandard equipment and systems
in place that limit the long term viability and
Fortunately, there are a multitude of people efficiencies of the farms.
who want to make livelihoods from farming
and land-based work, and who want to do so Furthermore, access to appropriate training,
precisely to help overcome these social and skills, and mentoring for agroecological
environmental problems. However, would be farming is limited, with very few accredited
new entrants face a daunting series of barriers schemes available. In addition, grants and
to entry that put off all but the most determined. subsidies are often inaccessible to small-scale
producers and establishing local markets takes
time and commitment so it can be a few years
before farms break even and farmers earn a
livelihood.

Despite this range of obstacles, many new

entrants do manage to carve out innovative and
sustainable livelihoods from agroecological
farming and growing. Recognising their
challenges and achievements, our task is to
focus our attention and collective power on
overcoming these issues so we can we support
more people into agroecological farming.
Access to Land is often the first obstacle for
many new entrants, as concentrated land
ownership and speculation on development
value increases the price and limits the
availability of land, making the cost of buying
land prohibitive to most people. In parallel
to this land is expensive to rent and often
comes without infrastructure and on insecure
tenancies.

Those who manage to access land then face

a series of further challenges. Planning
permission for the necessary infrastructure

3
1.2. Why a Farmstart? of value in establishing a project that supports
access to land or addresses one or more of the
In the context of the numerous obstacles barriers raised above.
facing new entrants, Farmstarts provide an
important opportunity for people to test their
farming and growing ideas in a protected Farmstarts generally include protected
environment, whilst building the knowledge, access to several of the following things:
skills, confidence and experience to progress to • Training and mentoring
their own farm or market garden. By providing
access to land, markets, equipment, training • Land
and mentoring, Farmstarts take much of the • Markets
financial risk and stress away from new entrants • Business support
in the crucial early phases, allowing them to
focus on working out what kind of business • Progression (moving beyond the
suits them best. Farmstart or Incubator Farm)
• Equipment/Infrastructure
Farmstarts are an important entry route into
farming, and fill a gap in opportunities for • Access to a community of other
new entrants. For most people, taking on a Farmstarters, or agroecological
Farmstart opportunity will follow on from producers
some form of training and on-farm work
experience, and will give them a few years in It is not necessary for a Farmstart to be on a
which to test their ideas for real before making site that is certified Organic, but operations
further steps to start their own business on long must be growing to organic/agroecological
term foundations. principles. We encourage non-certified sites to
put in place an Ecological Land Management
1.3. What is a Farmstart? plan in place to support this.

There are lots of different projects working to

provide access to land to new entrants, but what
distinguishes a Farmstart or Incubator Farm is
that it is tackling some of the deeper issues at
a systems level, usually managed centrally by a
group or organisation.

The key elements to this are the training, land

access and markets, all of which are required in
some form to be classified as a Farmstart.

Each Farmstart will be different, depending on

the situation and opportunities in the local area,
choosing which are the most relevant elements
to focus on and include. If you are not able to
set up and run a Farmstart, there is still a lot

4
1.4. History of Farmstarts
NORTH AMERICA
The oldest incubator farms in North America
have been operating for around 30 years.
There are over 100 incubator farms currently
in operation in North America and the New
Entry Sustainable Farming Project run a
training initiative and network for incubator
farms across the continent.
FRANCE
One of the longest running is the Intervale
Centre in Vermont, which has been running In France the RENETA (Réseau National des
since 1990. The 135-acre site sees experienced Espaces-Test Agricoles) national network of
growers farming alongside new entrants; each farm incubators has more than 80 members.
year they normally take in two new entrants There are 45 operational incubator farms and
and match them with six mentors who are almost 30 incubators in the process of being
already running businesses on the site. They do established. Incubator farms were first formed
not provide any training to the growers, insteadin 2007 in response to the increasing need for
focusing on access to land and mentoring. new entrants to enter the field of agriculture,
and in recognition of the multiple barriers
Farm Start in Canada started in 2005 but was facing these new entrants.
forced to close after 10 years of operating due
to lack of funding. They had several different The incubators exist to allow people to take part
approaches, including: in a ‘farming trial period’, with the key elements
to the farm incubators defined as:
• Training farms that provided curriculum
based programs with flexible internship • Incubator – a legal framework that
opportunities allows people to test their business
• Incubator farm facilities that provided autonomously without having to establish
small independent plots of land for a formal business
farmers • Nursery – the provision of the land, tools
• Mentoring during the first 6 years of the and infrastructure to reduce the high
enterprise start-up costs
• Access to business planning skill • Mentoring – multifaceted support
development programs. providing training, support and advice to
the new entrants as needed
New farmers paid a progressive fee structure • Coordination – connections with local
that supports their start-up phase but prevented partners and the community
them from developing a non-viable business.
These fees covered the operating and running This has quickly become a popular model
costs of the farm, but were not able to contribute in France, and by 2016, 200 people were
towards the program or organisational costs. participating in an incubator farm.

5
In 2013, Kindling Trust launched the first
Farmstart in the UK, followed by OrganicLea
and Tamar Grow Local. The projects learnt
a lot through the first couple of years. In
2015 they began meeting at the Oxford Real
Farming Conference (ORFC), along with
various other new entrant support schemes,
to try and share lessons learnt. They also
found that others wanted to set up similar
programmes across the UK and were eager
to learn from their successes and mistakes.
So the existing projects hosted visits and ran
‘how to set up a Farmstart days’, but there was
never enough time to support each other or
new Farmstart projects to set up.

In 2017, joining with a Soil Association trip,

Shared Assets organised for Kindling Trust,
OrganicLea and the Ecological Land Coop
to visit some projects in France, including
the RENETA network. They were all hugely
inspired and decided they could (and had to)
make it happen in the UK, so they got Jean
Baptiste of RENETA over to ORFC 2018.
There, a packed room of 100 groups and
individuals discussed establishing a RENETA
style Network, to support and encourage the
growth of Farmstart projects in the UK.

After further development of the vision with

a group of amazing organisations working in
the field, the Landworkers’ Alliance submitted
a successful funding bid to the Joseph
Rowntree Charitable Trust. In February
2019 work began to establish a network,
sharing information about Farmstarts and
researching and piloting relevant related
projects including accredited training and
mentoring.

More information about the network as it

develops, including a list of members and how
to join, can be found on the Landworkers’
Alliance website.

6
2. DESIGNING A FARMSTART
2.1. Mapping the landscape • Training - What are the training
and deciding the aim opportunities available in the local
area? What is the take-up? Is it practical
The first step in designing your Farmstart or classroom based? Is there business
operation should be to consider what other support available?
projects, organisations and markets are • Land availability - What land is available
around, and what the aim of your Farmstart is. to you? How much land? Who owns it?
Each city or rural region has a different set of What kind of farming does the land suit?
strengths and challenges, and to be successful,
your Farmstart will need to work alongside • Participants - Who is interested in a
these. It will also depend on what resources Farmstart? What skills and experience
your organisation or farm has to offer. do they have already? What support will
they need? Is there any support already
Here are some questions you might want to available?
ask: • Resources - Do you have the equipment
• Existing producers - What existing and infrastructure you need already
producers are there? What are they available? Do you have the finances to
selling? How are they selling their establish the operation or will you need
produce at the moment? Are they at to apply for funding or raise capital? If so,
capacity? Do any of them have land they where from?
aren’t farming that they could rent to
you?
• Routes to market - What are the current
routes to market? What retailers/
distributors/wholesalers are currently
operating? Will local restaurants buy
produce? What are the opportunities for
direct selling?
• Demand - What is the current demand
for local produce? Is this being met by
existing producers? What is the capacity
for growth in the market?
• Potential partners - Are there
partnerships with local veg box schemes,
farmers markets, farm shops or wholesale
operations that could be explored? Or
with farmers or local authorities who
would like to support new entrants to
farming by renting you land?

7
2.2. Land and Tenancies The length of tenancies provided to Farmstart
tenants often varies and is a balancing act
The cost of agricultural land, whether bought between giving the new entrant the time
or rented, is extremely high and is a real barrier and security to establish their business
to many new entrants. In addition, short-term with confidence, while also providing the
tenancies on rented land can leave people with organisation with flexibility if it doesn’t work
a lack of security. out with a tenant. It can also depend on how
much infrastructure you are providing and how
One of the main factors in a Farmstart is going
long people can stay on the land for. For sites
to be the piece (or pieces) of land that you
providing a lot of infrastructure that anticipate
establish it on. The size of the piece of land,
people only staying on the site for a few years, a
existing infrastructure, soil quality, water
short lease might be appropriate, but otherwise
supply, orientation and shading, access and
a longer tenancy (with potential break points)
possibilities for planning permission will all
is encouraged if possible.
have an impact. It’s important to consider the
bearing of these factors when designing how
your Farmstart will run – for example, location
or access restrictions may affect how regularly
your Farmstarters go to the site, which will
in turn impact on their operations. It is also
important to consider whether there is access
to affordable housing nearby, especially if you
are a rural operation.

A good place to start is considering how much

land you want and what kind of tenants you
want on your Farmstart. Are you looking to
incubate small scale horticulture, or are you
open to operations such as flowers, chickens,
orchards and bees? Or if you have more land
available are sheep, cows, pigs field scale veg or
arable a possibility?

In reality, opportunities
often come about
through word of mouth, When looking for land, there are a number of good starting points:
so it’s worth asking
around in your local • Your local city or county council
networks if anyone is • Local farms or landowners who may be supportive
aware of any local land
availability or farmers • Other large landowners (NHS, universities, National Trust?)
who may be open to a • Land Agents
conversation. • Auction sites (if looking to buy land)
• Your land - if you are a landowner or currently lease land, how
much land can you offer to a Farmstart?
8
2.3. Training and mentoring Some questions to consider when looking at
training options:
One of the key motivations behind
establishing Farmstarts is a recognition of the • Will the training be accredited? It is
lack of appropriate and accessible training possible to offer Organic Horticulture
opportunities for new entrants. As a result, training through City and Guilds at
most sites and projects choose to offer an Level 1 and 2 (as currently delivered
element of training or mentoring as part of the by OrganicLea), which allows adult
Farmstart, but the depth and topics covered education funding to be accessed. The
vary from site to site. process of becoming an accredited
training centre is complicated though,
One of the aims of the Farmstart Network is and exploring ways that this could be
to draw together some accredited training rolled out across the country is a priority
options, and look at how accredited training of the Farmstart Network.
offered could be standardised and delivered at a
• Will the training be delivered ‘in the field’
lower cost across several sites. The latest update
or in a classroom? Or a combination?
on this work will be found on the Landworkers’
Will you cover things like crop planning,
Alliance website.
record keeping and pricing?
• Who will be delivering the training?
Are there local producers within your
network or are you recruiting for this
role?
• How often is the training? Weekly?
Monthly? What time commitment is
required from participants? How will this
fit with the time they need to run their
business (eg in the winter, can classroom
based training take place after dark to
avoid encroaching on daylight hours)
• How are you going to fund the training,
especially after initial funding might run
out?
• What additional business and enterprise
skills are needed beyond the practical
farming skills? Marketing, business
planning, budgeting, accounting, staff
recruitment, working with volunteers,
The required training can be divided into and health and safety are all worth
practical farming based training, and business/ considering.
enterprise skills.

9
Different Farmstarts are currently delivering will depend on your circumstances as to who
different training options depending on their these mentors are and how regularly they
capacity. Farmstarters at OrganicLea have are able to offer support. It is worth noting
usually been through their training before that mentors should be paid for their time,
joining the Farmstart project, but continue to recognising their level of experience and skill
receive practical growing training and support that has taken years and hard work to reach. It
from the growers at OrganicLea as they is important to acknowledge that their time is
progress through the traineeship, and then an valuable and they are being asked to step away
element of mentoring once they progress onto from their own farms and businesses to provide
their own plot. this support. The Landworkers’ Alliance are
looking into establishing a Farm Mentoring
In Manchester, the Kindling Trust provide programme - please keep an eye on the website
in-field training through their Farmstart for more information.
Coordinator throughout the year, with a series
of classroom training sessions delivered by an
experienced local organic grower at the start of
the year. These cover both practical skills (crop
planning, soil fertility, harvesting etc.) and
business skills such as financial management
and record keeping. It is also worth considering
whether there are any other qualifications that
might be useful to your Farmstarters. Tamar
Grow Local have a commercial kitchen, so
they include a Food Hygiene Certificate in the
training to allow people to be able to create
value added products in this space.

In addition, are there skills you can offer at

low or no cost to your organisation? Can you
build in some training around how to run a
market stall by getting participants to help out
at a market you already attend? Can you create
some training around packaging and quality
control? Is there any free or subsidised training
available locally that you can access?

Depending on the experience level of your

Farmstarters, it might be appropriate to offer
mentoring from experienced local producers.
If the funding isn’t available to provide a
full training programme, this can be a more
affordable way of providing relevant and useful
support to your Farmstarters as they begin
working to establish their own businesses. It

10
2.4. Access to Markets • Farmers markets
• CSA/Direct to customer
A key challenge facing many new entrants
is the time that can be required to establish • Retail outlets
routes to market, especially when this is being • Food hubs
done alongside getting the practical side of the
• Restaurants
operation up and running. It may be that your
organisation offers a route to market that the • Farm shops
Farmstarters can make use of, such as Kindling
For your Farmstart this may look like
established co-operatives Manchester Veg
connecting your Farmstarters into the
People and Veg Box People, the Tamar Grow
opportunities already available in the area,
Local food hub or OrganicLea’s box scheme
providing them with a route through your
and farmers markets.
existing operations, or supporting them to
It is worth exploring what existing routes establish a new market opportunity of their
to market exist and how you can connect own. It is important to encourage collaboration
people into these - and are there new market and be sensitive to what other small-scale
opportunities that can be explored, such as producers in the area are already doing - by
helping people to identify gaps in the market
• Box schemes and avoid oversaturation of specific products
• Wholesale operations or stepping on toes.

11
2.5. Equipment and 2.6. Progression
infrastructure
There is a balance between providing security
A huge barrier for new entrants can be the of land access, and having a regular turnover
high capital costs that may be required for to make this opportunity available to a wide
setting up a business. Many Farmstarts group of people. As a result, a key part of
choose to tackle this by providing much of the designing your Farmstart is deciding how
essential infrastructure needed by the tenants, long people can stay on the site for, and this
but this will depend on your individual may depend on how much land you have
situation and set up. available. If you have limited land available,
you may need to set a time limit of 3-5 years
This infrastructure might include: for people to stay on the Farmstart site, before
moving on to their own land. If you are only
• Fencing and gates
able to provide small plots, you will likely find
• Water troughs and livestock that this progression is natural as people look
infrastructure at taking on an area of land that can support
• Water access (mains or off-grid) a livelihood. It is worth considering if you are
able to provide any support in finding land
• Other utilities (electricity, gas)
for tenants to move onto - do you know any
• Polytunnels other landowners, do you have a relationship
• Use of barns, packing sheds, storage with the local council?
space, toilets
You may also decide that you are able to
• Communal tools provide some support even after people
• Access to tractors and equipment have moved off the Farmstart site - perhaps
through mentoring over the following 12
• Transport for deliveries
month period or in another form. Keeping
It is also useful to clarify who is responsible for these people involved in the Farmstart
the maintenance of these assets. For example, network can also strengthen the network,
Tamar Grow Local received funding to put as well as providing an additional avenue of
a polytunnel on each plot, but the tenant is support for the next round of Farmstarters.
responsible for the maintenance of the tunnel,
If you have more land available then you may
and the same might apply for fencing on
decide that progression is not necessary.
grazing operations.

12
3. SETTING UP A FARMSTART
3.1. Start-up Costs
There are likely to be start-up costs associated with setting up a Farmstart. This will depend on
your existing organisational/farm structure, the current set up on the land that you are running the
Farmstart on, and what facilities and infrastructure you are intending to provide to participants.

Capital costs might include barns, hardstanding, polytunnels, tools, packing or tool sheds, toilets,
a tractor or rotavator, and fencing. You may also need to put in infrastructure for water access,
electricity and parking/road access.

In addition, there’s likely to be some revenue and staffing costs associated with setting up your
Farmstart. Consider including the development time involved setting up the site, advertising and
recruiting Farmstarters, and planning and preparing any training you are intending to run as
part of the scheme.

It is worth taking time to research and consider the start-up costs and how these will be financed
through grants or other financial income.

3.2. Setting up your site

The work to establish and set up the site will vary
depending on the facilities already in place, and how much
communal infrastructure you are providing to tenants.
It’s really important to be clear about access limitations or
restrictions to shared facilities and equipment in order to
ensure smooth operation of the site as a whole.

A key part is considering how you divide the land. Some

Farmstarts provide people with a small plot of land, but
allow them to expand onto an additional plot (and further)
if they are managing their original plot well. This requires
careful site planning to ensure that this is possible without
people working across split plots.

If Organic certification is important, you could consider

certifying the Farmstart scheme, to save on individual
certification costs. This is the avenue that the Kindling
Trust chose in Manchester – all packaging had to be
labelled with the Kindling Trust name (as they are the
certification holder) and sold on market stalls under the
Kindling FarmStart banner. They could also include
information about the Farmstarter, to help them build up
their future market.

13
4. RUNNING A FARMSTART
4.1. Managing Applications
The first step is working out where you are going to find your Farmstarters. Do you have
existing networks you can promote the scheme through? Are you advertising more widely?
If so, where?

Here are some potential places you could advertise:

• Email newsletters and facebook groups

• Farmshops, local grocers or box schemes might advertise for you as potential buyers
• Local newspapers
• Social media
• Landworkers’ Alliance and other national and local farming organisations
• Through local groups or having stalls at relevant events

The second step is establishing an application procedure. It might make sense to have an
initial open expression of interest or open day on site, from which you can then invite people
to make a full application. It is up to you what this application looks like, but it may be
worth asking people to provide a business plan (or at least the outline of one - such as Lean
Canvas), a land management plan and crop plan (if relevant) to ensure that they are at the
right point to be joining the Farmstart and have a clear idea about how they are going to use
the opportunity.

Experience from established Farmstarts is that people are often keen to take up the
opportunity but do not have sufficient experience to make the most of the opportunity and
struggle to commit the time or get their enterprise off the ground.

Some of the things you might want to consider are:

• How much practical hands-on experience do they have?

• How much time are they able to commit to their Farmstart enterprise?
• How long have they been working towards their project for?
• Is their business plan viable and realistic?

The final stage to consider is what policy documents and agreements that you will ask people
to sign when they join. After struggling with a tenant that was misusing the site, Tamar Grow
Local and Kindling Trust have adopted a Farmer Policy which Farmstarters must adhere to,
which provides them with the means to terminate the tenancy if a tenant is not managing
the land appropriately.

You can find example application forms and policies on the LWA website.

14
4.2. Cost to applicants One further thing to consider is taking a
deposit of around £100-150 per participant.
One of the main things to consider is how much This money can work as an insurance that
you are going to charge people to participate people will look after their land and not let it
in your Farmstart. This can be an important get overgrown or be mismanaged if they leave
source of income towards the running costs of the project.
the project, but equally if it is too high this can
be a barrier for entry to people.
4.3. Encouraging
Most projects choose to charge a set fee per Collaboration and
plot, but this cost and the size of the plot varies Community Engagement
and is likely to be influenced by the amount
of land you have available and the experience Whether done formally or informally, there
level of your Farmstart applicants, as well as can be real value in encouraging collaboration
your plans for progression. between tenants. Whether that’s people
cooperating to grow crops together, shared
An option to consider is whether you charge a use of machinery or hiring other tenants to
set price for the initial piece of land, but then carry out maintenance such as mowing, shared
a market-rate based amount for any additional watering schedules in the summer, or waste
land. For example, the Kindling Trust charge products from one enterprise being used by
£500 (plus VAT) a year to participate in the another.
programme. For this they get training, use of
tools, trips, volunteer support etc., and in the Another consideration is how you communicate
first year at their Abbey Leys site includes with your tenants. In sites where tenants are
1/8 acre of land. If in the second year the fairly independent, a regular monthly or bi-
participant takes on more land (increasing to monthly meeting can help encourage the
¼ or ½ acre) the fee doesn’t double, they are community to develop and nurture such
charged the same annual fee plus the market collaborative relationships.
rate for additional land. If you are renting larger It’s also worth considering how you, as a
areas of land, you could consider charging Farmstart site, and also your Farmstarters,
below market rate for the first few years to engage with the local community. It can be
allow people to establish their business before great to run events to introduce who you
increasing the rent to ensure their business is and your tenants are and what you’re doing,
viable. publicise the programme, gain public support
and customers.

15
4.4. Staffing your Farmstart 4.5. Ongoing Costs
The staff required to run your Farmstart will Most organisations set up a Farmstart
depend on the number of tenants you have because they recognise that it feeds into their
and the amount of involvement you have in wider goals of supporting new entrants and
the operation, as well as being influenced by increasing production of local food in response
the staffing structure of your organisation (if to the demand. However, it is very difficult to
applicable). The start up phase will require make a Farmstart cover its own costs without
significantly more staff time, but on an ongoing ongoing funding or support from a larger
basis you will still need someone to be the organisation. It can be possible to make it
point of contact, coordinate applications and financially sustainable as a project if you are
keep an eye on the progress of the tenants. It simply providing land access and some basic
is good to budget for a minimum of 0.5-1 day coordination support (i.e. covering the land
a week for this once the project is established rental and minimal staffing), but if the project
(although more time will allow you to support involves any kind of training or more in-depth
Farmstarters further), with training staff in support, it is unlikely that the fee the participant
addition. pays will cover this additional staffing cost. As
a result, longer term funding or support from
Two alternative Farmstart models that you a wider project is usually necessary, and it’s
could consider are: helpful to be aware of this when setting up a
Farmstart.
• A Farmstart built around a central
business, such as Stream Farm, who Potential ongoing costs might include:
provide the land and infrastructure
• Staffing for coordination of the Farmstart
for different enterprises on the farm.
People can come and spend a few • Staffing for training or mentoring
years running one of the existing • Ongoing maintenance of equipment and
enterprises (or start a new one) under infrastructure
a share farming agreement, with
produce being sold under a single • Any certification fees
central brand. Part of the income goes • Insurance
towards the central costs, including • Land rental
the land and infrastructure, with the
rest going to the individual to support More information about these models and other
a viable livelihood. Farmstarts can be found on the Landworkers’
• A Farmstart set up by an existing Alliance website.
farm, such as Stroud Community
Agriculture, where a small plot of land
is rented to a starter farm. Mentoring
and support is provided, as well as
potentially a route to market, but the
starter farm runs independently from
the parent farm.

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5. WHERE NOW?
5.1. Funding your Farmstart 5.2. Using the Farmstart
network
Most Farmstarts have significant start-up
costs due to the infrastructure and equipment The Farmstart Network has been created to
required, as well as development revenue support new Farmstarts and Incubator Farms
costs. Several funders such as the Esmee to be set up, and support those already running.
Fairbairn Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree There is a lot of experience within the network
Charitable Trust and the National Lottery that people are willing to share, so check out the
Community Fund support food, sustainability Landworkers’ Alliance website <insert link>
and community work. It is also worth looking for case studies, useful documents and to sign
at local funds and databases such as Funding up to the email list. We will also be organising
Central can be a great way to look at possible annual gatherings and exchange visits so keep
grant opportunities. There are also other an eye on the website for more information.
ways to raise capital through crowdfunding,
community shares or bonds. Sites like
crowdfunder, chuffed and ethex have more
information about how these work.

Case Studies
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 Case Study: Tamar Grow Local

ABOUT TAMAR GROW LOCAL review meeting after 6 months with a break
clause in the contract if they are not adhering
Tamar Grow Local was started in 2007 with to the farmer policy.
three main aims; providing opportunities for
local people to grow their own food, raising
MARKETS
awareness of the benefits of local produce, and
working with commercial growers and supply Encourage and support tenants to grow through
chains. In addition to the Farmstart, they run supplying their retail and wholesale Food Hub
a Food Hub, a scheme to improve healthy or Grow Share Cook project, and most sell
eating and cooking skills with low income through the Hub as well as having their own
households, they run producer cooperatives, direct sales including a pop-up shop and small
community food projects and more. The Tamar veg box rounds. Some informal partnerships
Valley is very rural with low population density and shared crops have worked between tenants.
and limited public transport. Tamar Grow Local also provide access to their
equipment bank which includes market stall
THE MODEL equipment which tenants can borrow.

Several fields totalling 12.5 acres have been

TRAINING
leased from a local landowner (more land is
available if needed) on a ten year Farm Business There is no formal training with the programme.
Tenancy and split into 1-acre plots, and people Initially there was some time funded to provide
do not have to move off the plots as there is so training, and this ended up being spent on
much land available. Each plot comes with a bespoke training for each individual, but this
30 x 14 ft polytunnel, a 1 tonne IBC water tank funding has now ended. People are provided
and shared access to barn space, electricity and with Level 2 Food Hygiene training so they can
off-road parking. On the site they have had use the Community Kitchen.
a variety of operations including native cut
flowers, a small orchard, a vineyard, hatching
COST
eggs and several market gardens. Some tenants
bought equipment (mower, topper, spreader) Tenants pay £500 a year for a 1 acre plot. After
and do work for other tenants - self organised. 3 years this decreases to £300 per acre, and
They have found a monthly tenant meeting tenants are responsible for maintaining the
works well to help with communication. tunnel. Tenants can also expand onto another
acre when they have proven they are able to
Participants provide a business plan, crop plan
manage it. Tenants pay a £150 deposit in case
and soil building plan. They also have business
they leave their plot in a poor state.

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 Case Study: OrganicLea

ABOUT ORGANICLEA market on time. Some growers grow directly

for restaurants or have other routes to market.
OrganicLea is a community food project based
in the Lea Valley in north-east London. They
TRAINING
produce and distribute food and plants locally,
and inspire and support others to do the same. People have to have gone through one of the
Their work includes running a fruit and veg OrganicLea training schemes before joining the
box scheme, farmers markets, offering a range Farmstart to make sure they have the skills and
of training courses and working with local enthusiasm. Their training offering currently
schools. includes Level 1 and 2 courses in Horticulture,
traineeships and apprenticeships. When they
THE MODEL are on the OrganicLea site, they are are growing
salad and veg for the OrganicLea market, of
Building on their existing work-based training which 50% of the market rate is placed in a
scheme, the Farmstart was a response as bursary for when they set up independently.
to where people could move onto after the
training scheme. People do a specific Farmstart
COST
traineeship for 9 months - the first three
months are work based training and mentoring There is no cost to the traineeship, but people
within the OrganicLea production team, the may have to pay for the horticultural courses
next three months are setting up their own (they are means tested)
micro-plot on the OrganicLea site, and the
final three months are about moving on to People do not pay rent for the land at the
their own land and developing planting plans incubation stage but are not provided with
for the next season. At the end of the 9 months, any infrastructure, only what is existing on the
OrganicLea provides land for them to move land.
onto or supports them to find their own land,
moving into an ‘incubation stage’ where they
get some mentoring support.

If people are looking to earn a full livelihood

they generally outgrow the sites and move on
to find their own land and grow their business.
A lot of people earn a partial livelihood from it.

MARKETS
Option to sell produce through the OrganicLea
box scheme and markets - they get help with
quality control, packaging, getting produce to

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 Case Study: Kindling Trust

ABOUT KINDLING TRUST (KT) MODEL 2 - WOODBANK

Since 2007, KT has been working for a just This model is ideal for people with very little
and ecologically sustainable society. Working experience, focusing on scaling up your growing
with communities, farmers, activists and and getting more efficient. People spend two
policy makers, they use food as a catalyst for days a week growing alongside a grower who
environmental and social change. In addition provides all the in-field training and takes all
to their Farmstart, they run a veg box, a responsibility for the planning and selling of
wholesale veg operation, a community food the produce. There is no additional cost to the
hub, volunteer programme and a commercial participants (costs of seeds, compost, materials
growers course. The veg box scheme and are covered), but KT keep all the money from
wholesale are established as two independent selling the produce to cover these costs.
co-ops but work closely together.
People can stay on the programme for up to
3 years, getting more involved in the crop
MODEL 1 - ABBEY LEYS planning etc., then move onto the Abbey Leys
The Abbey Leys site is 2 acres of organic site (or find their own land), and can continue
land, and participants are given ⅛ or ¼ of an to receive mentoring from the FarmStart co-
acre for their operation. Participants reapply ordinator or from another experienced local
every year, but can stay on the land for up to grower.
5 years, increasing their area each year if they
can demonstrate they are ready. KT provide MARKETS
tools and infrastructure such as water, and
the site is certified organic through the Soil For Abbey Leys, participants are supported
Association. Certification is under the KT to sell through Manchester Veg People, Veg
FarmStart name, so each FarmStarter has to Box People and Unicorn Grocers, and trained
use this name for their labelling (if labelled in how to run a Farmer’s Market stall. For
organic), however they can also put their own Woodbank the produce is sold through the
name, and each participant has to keep their same channels but the grower handles the sales
own documentation to feed in to the Soil (although participants have some involvement
Association inspection as part of their training. in the admin/record keeping and from the
People buy their own seeds, fleece and other 2nd year are involved in the ordering and sales
materials, but keep all money made from process).
selling crops.

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TRAINING
In addition to the in-field training there are an additional 5 classroom sessions across the year
(varying between 2 hours and ½ a day). These cover topics such as soil and fertility building,
record keeping and tool maintenance in the first year, moving on to cover finances, pricing,
working with volunteers and business planning in the second and third years. The programme
also includes a day with the buyers to get an understanding of their needs and visits to two other
growers (of different scales).

COST
Participants pay £500 + VAT per year, plus pay a returnable £100 deposit

There is an application form and process, including an opportunity to attend a ‘Do you really
want to be a farmer’ evening. For the Abbey Leys programme participants have to submit an
annual crop plan and soil fertility plan (which is also part of the Soil Association record keeping)

21
 Case Study: Stream Farm

ABOUT STREAM FARM in the winter or preparing a trout order.

Stream Farm was started in 2002 with the aim

MARKETS
of providing training and self-employment to
new entrants to farming and revitalising the Stream Farm sell all their produce under
rural landscape. The 250-acre organic farm in a single brand, selling direct to customers,
Somerset has a number of different enterprises restaurants and occasional markets. Learning
running on the farm, including beef, lamb, about this side of the business is part of what
pork, chicken, eggs, smoked and fresh trout, trainees learn while they’re on the the farm.
apple juice, spring water and honey. The
aim is to provide people with a pathway to a
TRAINING
sustainable livelihood, and for people to move
on after a few years and continue running their There is no formal training, but practical
own enterprises elsewhere. training and business training is given on the
farm while people are running the enterprises.
THE MODEL
COST
The farm operates on a Share Farming model,
• There is no cost to the participants - they
with people coming on board to run one
are paid a share of the gross income
of the on-farm enterprises full time for up
of their enterprise earns, aiming for
to two years. During this time, people are
a livelihood at a living wage (some
trained on the farm and take responsibility
currently provide a full livelihood, some a
for the enterprise, learning the practical skills
partial livelihood).
as well as the knowledge necessary to run a
successful business. Produce is sold through • Some of the farmers live on site, so their
a single central brand that encompasses all financial needs, whilst they are being
the enterprises on the farm. The enterprises trained, are lower than they would be
are designed to run and complement each otherwise. As part of the Share Farming
other - for example the hens roam in the apple model, the rest of the gross revenue goes
orchards, and all the farmers come together to to the central Stream Farm business to
support each other when intensive amounts of cover the working capital, maintenance,
work are needed - for example cleaning barns the land etc.

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 Case Study: Stroud Community
Agriculture
ABOUT STROUD COMMUNITY MARKETS
AGRICULTURE
Originally SCA bought all the produce but the
Stroud Community Agriculture (SCA) is a starter farm is now an independent business
community-led enterprise, an established local and sells some of their produce through their
farming business that produces fresh organic own routes to market and some through SCA
and biodynamic produce for its members. outlets. They feel like this is the best option as it
Members pay a small membership fee and a makes sure people learn how to run a business,
monthly payment in order to receive produce sell produce etc, which are important skills
including vegetables, with lamb, pork and when they move off the plot.
beef available in addition. They are currently
diversifying into other produce to expand the TRAINING
range. The farm grows on 3 sites, part of which
are certified organic and biodynamic. The Starter Farm tenants are presumed to
have previously undergone an internship/
THE MODEL traineeship/apprenticeship before moving onto
the site - there is no training provided, but
SCA launched the Starter Farm 3 years ago some informal mentoring from SCA.
when two people who had been working at
SCA wanted to set up their own farm. They COST
applied for funding (in SCA’s name) for a • Tenants do not pay rent on their plot of
polytunnel and some tools and equipment, land to SCA, but they pay for water and
and rent around 0.5 acre off SCA (0.25 acre utilities, potting compost and packaging
plus a polytunnel), with the plot moving as bags (that SCA buy in bulk) and petrol
part of SCA’s rotation. SCA helped getting the for the rotavator
project off the ground, including assembling
the polytunnels, laying water pipes etc. SCA • There is rent-free seasonal
undertake an initial cultivation of the plot accommodation available on site for one
each year, and they share tools and equipment person (in a caravan, so not available
(including being allowed to borrow the tractor during winter months).
if they can demonstrate competence) and have
access to farmyard manure. Originally SCA
bought the produce grown for their veg scheme
but the starter farm now sell independently
and operate as an independent business. The
current tenant has been on the land for 3 years
but think it’ll be a two year opportunity going
forwards.

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 www.landworkersalliance.org.uk

The Landworkers’ Alliance (LWA) is a union of farmers, growers, foresters and

land-based workers. We campaign for the rights of producers and lobby the UK
government for policies that support the infrastructure and economic climate
central to our livelihoods.

info@landworkersalliance.org.uk www.landworkersalliance.org.uk

@landworkersalliance @landworkersuk