Can you make a living from a smallholding?

[Thomzo]

Hi - asking on behalf of a friend here -
Can anybody advise whether it is possible to make a living from a smallholding in the UK at the moment, or even break even? If he was to rent the land, would the income cover the costs of the food, stock and so on.

Also, how difficult is it to get to grips with all the rules, regulations and paperwork? Is it quite easy to pick it all up or does it take years of learning?

Thanks
Zoe

[JulieSherris]

I think if you was to be renting the land, then things would probably be really tight to make any sort of profit - but I guess it depends on what you grow & how the crops behaved....

I was looking at the rules for registering a smallholding here in Ireland - I didn't get very far!
You could suggest that your friend goes out & tries to find someone who is already established & take a few tips from them, trying to glean as much info as possible.
And as ever, it's the preparation that costs the dosh in the beginning - if he had that money up front, things would be a lot easier... now, why didn't we think of that...?

[TheGoodEarth]

Very difficult indeed and lots of hard work for very little return. If he is happy to live on buttons then it is possible. Check ou the Permaculture magazine for more info.

http://www.permaculture.org.uk/

[godfreyrob]

So many factors can influence the success or otherwise of a smallholding (or any rural business for that matter):

Suitability of the land (shelter, soil type, drainage, etc).
Distance from markets - the closer the market is, the more expensive the land will be in the first place.
How much can you invest in terms of tools, buildings,knowledge,etc.
Your own business sense.
Luck!

Until recently if you had enough money to buy/equip a smallholding then you could make more money on the interest from leaving it in a bank! That maybe still true even now. If its the lifestyle you are after then its a different matter altogether, but its going to tough unless you have loads of money and/or support.

[red]

i belong to a small holders association. the magazine ads show up the people that bought everything, all teh equipment etc, and now are selling it all.... you hear of them all the tiem - they do the courses, buy all the equipment and animals (often buying where they dont have to ... etc brand new top of the range trailers etc) then finding out they dont like the life.

I woudl advise against anyone just jumping in the deep end.. would suggest working up to it.

My guess is you would have trouble making ends meet on a small holding if you had no rent or mortgage. it always seems people have some other side line at least.. lambing for other people, craft sales etc

[Thomzo]

Thanks, guys
I had a feeling you were going to say this.

Cheers
Zoe

[contadino]

No. You can't support any financial vehicle (rent, mortgage, debts, etc..) from a smallholding. IMO.

[mybarnconversion]

No. You can't support any financial vehicle (rent, mortgage, debts, etc..) from a smallholding. IMO.

Must pretty much agree ... running a small holding is more of a hobby than a sustainable lifestyle.

[frozenthunderbolt]

talk to Stonehead. He is Guru here i think lol

[Annpan]

I think there MUST be ways to make a living, you just need to do the right things surely? you need to jump through the right hoops (concerning selling produce) and work out how to manage your land with little or no machinery. Stoney doesn't make 'a living' from the croft, but, so far as I understand, that was never a goal for them.

[contadino]

No. You can't support any financial vehicle (rent, mortgage, debts, etc..) from a smallholding. IMO.

Must pretty much agree ... running a small holding is more of a hobby than a sustainable lifestyle.

That's not what I said. Our smallholding is very sustainable, but it doesn't make us a lot of money. Enough to support the two of us, and enough to pay the bills, but not if those bills included servicing any sort of debt or pay any rent. It's certainly no hobby.

[Annpan]

Contadino/a is there other things you 'could' do to make a more lucrative operation?

I know small holders who are quite happy with the status quo but many of them are aware they 'could' open a farm shop, raise more livestock to sell, make deals with local businesses, etc, etc...

What I am suggesting is that there is a way of making (possibly a healthy) income from small-holding, but it might involve doing things that you don't want to do, or perhaps they feel to much like playing the corporate game, and a heavy percentage of small holders have escaped the rat race for that very reason.

[TheGoodEarth]

Indeed just last night on BBC2 there was a programme following a guy who bought animals from a smallholder on Skye who breeds particularly tough pigs and sheep (for the NW Scottish climate) and he seemed to make quite a nice living from it. Hard work but I am sure it was said that they were very successful.

[red]

Indeed just last night on BBC2 there was a programme following a guy who bought animals from a smallholder on Skye who breeds particularly tough pigs and sheep (for the NW Scottish climate) and he seemed to make quite a nice living from it. Hard work but I am sure it was said that they were very successful.

but then thats not small holding, thats pig breeding. not the same thing

[TheGoodEarth]

Good point Red but selling 'produce' could maybe also include pigs if it helps with the income.