Diversification News

The finalists of a national awards celebrating the best in the farm retail industry have been announced.    

Jahama Highland Estates, part of GFG Alliance, has opened its first food retail shop selling a new brand of ethically-produced wild venison.

While many of us viewed the March national lockdown as a temporary glitch, months on we are now in the grip of a ‘new normal’, with many still working from home, and events and overseas travel still fraught with complication.

When lockdown hit earlier this year, farm contractor Laura Burnett decided to future-proof her business and combine her two passions – farming and creating metal animal sculptures. We spoke to her to find more about her creations.

Could e-commerce be the next step for your business? With a bit of planning you could be up-and-running faster than you thought, according to accountancy firm Carmichael Kingham & Co.

With farm shops seeing a significant boost in popularity since the Covid-19 lockdown, many more farmers may be looking for ways to sell their produce direct to the consumer, yet new build projects can be expensive and time consuming. 

With the cost of solar energy falling dramatically by 80% in recent years, as well as growing pressure to reduce our carbon footprint, there has never been a better time for you to install solar PV and kick start your farm to become carbon neutral.

Farmer Tom Warner and founder of Warner’s Gin, diversified his family’s livestock farm back in 2012, with no idea that he was about to trigger the trend for flavoured artisan gins. We spoke to Tom about his inspiration, and how the business has adapted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the renaissance of the UK holiday, the Caravan and Motorhome Club is experiencing unprecedented levels of demand for campsite bookings and membership. Many campsites have been fully booked for several weeks. Now is the perfect time to set up your own five-van site.

As Covid-19 continues to impact the way we live outdoors, there is a growing appreciation for the Great British countryside. And as the prospect of overseas travel is fraught with potential complications, many more of us are opting for the ‘staycation’.

Ambitious, out of the box thinking comes naturally to Leicestershire farmer David Haynes. Yet, 30 years ago, he hit a brick wall. The farm needed to progress and with the help of financial advice, he changed his farm practices in a brave move that’s still paying off today.

Farms that have adapted their business offering, taking advantage of the right tools and opportunities to do so, have often been able to maintain cashflow via their supplementary businesses.