With farms that were definitely not viable already put aside, how did we identify which farms would be suitable for us and which wouldn’t?

To start with there are two non-negotiables for contract farming agreements. Both of these have to be in place for an agreement to work.

The Golden Rules of Contract Farming

1. The farm can consistently and sustainably deliver a financial surplus which meets the needs and wants of both farmer and contractor

2. The farmer and contractor can work together through the bad times and the good

What do I mean by this?

Contract farming has to make a surplus. I say surplus not profit as profit isn’t a concept in contract farming. There are two separate businesses and the profit of either one sits independently of the agreement but is influenced by the surplus. The surplus is the money left to share after paying the trading costs of farming plus the capital returns, first charge, and depreciation of each party (I will write a post explaining how this all works- the nuts and bolts of it aren’t that important to this point).

Each party will have different needs and wants. For some farmers the return on capital covers what they need from the dairy farm and their share of the surplus is a happy bonus. For others they will have a set figure they want to achieve. Contract farmers have a salary equivalent embedded into their labour budget but it is typically considerably below their market value as a manager. The contractor’s fee is designed to cover their operating costs- wages, contracting, fuel, machinery repairs- and not turn a profit. The surplus is therefore their driver and what will allow them to invest in cows and grow their business.

Some contracts will have a clause in them which states that the agreement can be ended if a deficit is achieved for a specified number of years. It is therefore really important that it can be done- and that is doesn’t require a very high milk price or unsustainably low operating costs to do so.

Contract farming is explicitly not a partnership- the farmer and the contractor have their own separate businesses linked by a contract. However, they need to work together as partners. What this boils down to is shared values on how the farm should be managed and what is important, and good communication. Most people expect this to become an issue when the farm is doing badly or when the market crashes. I always say “through the good times” because there are examples of clashes that have arisen when things have gone too well. The majority of the surplus falls to the contractor (although it is important to note that the farmer will have received their first charge for land and their return on capital for infrastructure and possibly cows before this) and this can be a large sum of money. Where a farmer used to run the farm in-hand it can be easy to resent the contractor’s spoils or think that they could achieve the same results and keep all the money if they ran it themselves!

Appraising Opportunities

When we were looking at farms it was those two points that decided what was viable or not. After eight years in Wales we were really aware of the importance of working well with the farmers. We had an excellent relationship with ours which allowed the agreement to survive constant TB losses on top of the usual challenges of farming. Coming out of it we knew what could be achieved financially and we also had goals for what we wanted to get from a new agreement. Buying cows is an aspiration of ours as we weren’t able to buy any in Wales (due to the TB restricted herd and knowing that the farm would likely be sold at the end of the agreement) so any new opportunity needed to generate enough of a surplus for us to fairly quickly achieve it.

My off-farm work as a consultant gives me an advantage in being able to very quickly budget. I prepared different scenario budgets for the farms we visited and we were able to check if a normalised year surplus met our cash wants. In a contract farming agreement the one farm needs to satisfy two parties financially and so the herd generally needs to be of a certain scale; it is very difficult to make smaller herds work as CFAs. A general rule of thumb would be at least 300 spring block calving cows or 250 autumn block calving cows (conventional twice a day milking with average yields for the system). At some of the farms we identified opportunities to increase herd size to a viable or more lucrative level. Some had had lots of investment and would have a high return on capital which would stress the business.

If you’re financially appraising an opportunity you need to think about;

1. What are your needs (cash to service debt for example) and your wants (cash to invest)? Have an average figure that needs to be achieved

2. What is the current performance of the farm and what is its potential? Some opportunities will have benchmarking data to share and others won’t (either because the current farmers don’t do it, aren’t able to share, or the farm isn’t currently dairy farming!)

3. What value of infrastructure is on farm and how does that translate into depreciation and return on capital? Sometimes we were given figures to use when budgeting, at other times we had to make an educated guess

4. Is the current infrastructure viable or is more investment needed? Pay close attention to slurry and silage infrastructure- is it compliant? If further investment is required how will that impact point 3?

5. Can the farm grow enough grass to sustainably support the proposed herd size?

Identifying whether you can work with the farmer is less straightforward and certainly more subjective! I think a key thing is having shared values; when you discuss the farm are you focussing on the same things? Our values are about grass-based farming that centres high levels of herd health and welfare and endeavours to grow and develop people. If a farmer wanted us to compromise these values then we likely wouldn’t work well together. Similarly if a farmer was committed to pedigree animals and valued certain bloodlines over their objective performance then we wouldn’t be for them.

The dairy industry is a small world and if you are looking for a new opportunity take advantage of that. There will be someone in your circle who knows the farmer and ask them for an honest and confidential assessment of your compatibility. In all of this do take note of the context- if your contact used to work on farm and was sacked they will have an opinion of the farmer which will be very different to someone who sits across from them at NFU meetings. When we received feedback that was negative we took note of it and then made up our own minds- sometimes gathering multiple opinions from different stakeholders gave a clearer picture.

In Practice

I’m struggling a bit to write this part as its a fine balance between sharing our story and divulging information about farmers and farms that isn’t fair to put out into the world. Of the eleven farms we seriously contemplated there were three that rejected us; one wanted to take on someone who didn’t already have a farm, one had different values on farming system (we proposed a calving pattern change which didn’t align with their goals), and one chose a contractor with more available cash (The contractor would have had to supply a whole herd of cows as well as machinery. Our application went in more as practice than in hope!). The rest either came apart for external factors or we pulled out of the process- two of these were because we had found our farm in Devon and so we had to end the discussion.

Perhaps it is more productive to talk about why we did pursue the farm in Devon- and luckily they wanted us too! The surplus and farmer/contractor relationship were ticked off as well as they can be at that early stage so these were the other factors that made us want to move here.

Scale- the farm should support a herd of 600 dairy cows. Managing a bigger herd was a challenge we wanted to take on

Organic- given that there aren’t that many CFAs available this couldn’t be a deciding factor but it was a tick in the box for this farm. We were keen to learn to farm organically and build on the skills we’d developed in managing mixed species swards and cutting back on fertiliser

Milk Contract- the farm has a strong contract (Arla Organic). We liked the co-operative nature of Arla, the product story, and the strong recent returns. Some of the farms we saw had vulnerable contracts which would have been a factor in turning them down

Infrastructure- the farm has lots and lots of sheds! In a CFA this brings a higher return on capital as you have to pay for the investment, but having space is a positive. We farmed in Wales with limited calf shed space- leading to the marquee over the silage clamp set up- and a fairly small calving shed so don’t take infrastructure for granted. Here there is ample space for pre-weaned calves and a huge calving shed (plus a smaller one for Johne’s cows!). The cow tracks are also excellent and in a lovely twist their layout was designed by a farmer in one of my longstanding West Wales discussion groups

Location- we had boundaries on where we wanted to be located, based on my off-farm work and some personal preferences. To be a contract farmer you need to be open to move as unless you are very lucky you’re unlikely to find something next door! Where we are is at the very edge of where were prepared to move to, and we wouldn’t have done it for a weaker farm

The Sea- this is superficial but the coastal location was a massive plus for this farm. I think every other farm we looked at was miles and miles from the sea. One of my biggest regrets from Wales is not taking full advantage of our proximity to the sea. Here I plan to do differently!

The farm is part of a bigger network of herds and also supports two diversified businesses and lots of school visits. This community aspect (plus the shared knowledge and buying power of multiple units) was also really important to us.

And finally…. Nature. Freddie and I are both capable of becoming unreasonably interested in identifying wildflowers or making lists of birds spotted on farm. This farm is paradise for wild animals and plant life. Not a day goes by when we don’t see a hare. skylarks serenade every dog walk. A tawny owl wakes me up with its hooting and barn owls swoop past the calf shed. I see deer when I check the horses in the morning and spot hedgehog droppings on the cow tracks. There are more songbirds than I can recognise and the farm has its own bluebell wood. We are ridiculously lucky to farm in a place like this and it was definitely a factor in wanting to be here.

I think that is enough for this post (if you’re still reading- thank you). If you have questions about the process please add them to the comments! Always available for support and advice.

I should say here that our previous agreement ended on excellent terms. Our five year contract was coming to an end and the owners wanted to sell up and enjoy a well-deserved retirement. Over the course of eight years both parties did well out of the agreement. One of the most irritating things about it ending was the constant suggestion from reps and locals that we must have done an awful job for it to be ending, and the stream of comments on the estate agent’s Facebook advert stating that it was being sold because of the impossibility of making money milking cows or because of inheritance tax. The idea that farmers would retire on a high after a long and successful career in dairying is alien to social media commentators.

Over the nearly two years of searching there were ten farms that got as far as face to face meetings, one that made it to an online meeting, and countless others that were discussed over phone or email and ultimately came to nothing. Contract farming is still a relatively novel concept in UK dairy farming and is poorly understood. Some of those phone calls were from farmers who wanted managers and some were for farms that were too small to be viable for two parties. Others were perfectly good opportunities that were either in the wrong place or making themselves known at the wrong time.

In terms of location the eleven farms were; one in North Wales, one in West Wales (I include this one but Freddie doesn’t- it was a farm that came up in late 2024 that we enquired about as a second unit before we knew our contract wouldn’t be renewed. It is no longer a dairy farm and we dodged a bullet), two in Gloucestershire, one in Worcestershire, two in Somerset, one in Leicestershire, one in Nottinghamshire, one in Derbyshire, and one in Devon (where we are today).

Building a Reputation and Contacts

Contract farming opportunities are few and far between and the number that are openly advertised is relatively small. We knew that opportunities would only come if people knew we were looking, and if we were perceived as being suitable. Our financial track record in Wales could be clearly demonstrated with benchmarking data and we had multiple points of reference for strategies we had implemented to build resilience and improve technical performance.

While our farming reputation was built through eight years of doing I committed some time to enhancing our industry reputation; being elected to the AHDB Dairy Sector Council, serving two years as a Nuffield Trustee, being open to award nominations. I knew that opportunities could come from any source and so having a great network of farmers and industry professionals could only help us.

In 2021 I accepted a job offer from Andersons and started working for them in February 2022. Even that was done partly with our future farm in mind. We had signed a new five year contract in early 2021 and were conscious that it may not be renewed again. Contract farming is rare in West Wales and any new farm was unlikely to be in the area. Working for Andersons would mean that I could take my job with me and not be in a situation of looking for a CFA and a new job at the same time, further complicated by not knowing where we would end up. In addition to this Andersons ran our previous CFA and are the industry leaders in the field. By working there I would get to do something I wanted to do (consultancy), build skills that would help our business, and (I hoped) be the first to hear of new CFAs.

Our Advert

We advertised twice for a CFA, both times with a very simple iPhone Notes post detailing what we were looking for and what we could offer. I was keen to make a video but Freddie was very relieved when we didn’t need to do so! The advert was posted on Facebook and Instagram both on my profiles and in dairy farming groups.

Openly Advertised

Of the eleven farms five were openly advertised. Two of these (including where we are today) were put on the market by Andersons and the others were advertised by other consultants and land agents. Anyone in the market for a CFA probably saw them.

What strikes me is that this represents less than half of the farms we looked at. The other six came through connections and algorithms.

Closed Opportunities

Not all contract farming agreements are advertised. There are lots that come about through word of mouth or recommendation and never make it to the Grazing Gurus Facebook group or the pages of Farmers Guardian. This is how those six came about;

• A friend considering a structural change to his business

• 2 x farmer saw my Instagram post

• 2 x industry contact put us in touch with a farmer

• A farm that the owners didn’t want to put on the open market- their consultant pulled together a shortlist of potential contractors to approach

These six opportunities came down to contacts and communication. The two farmers who approached us after my Instagram posts were already in contact with me and the others came through building relationships and making it known that we were (a) looking for a new farm and (b) capable.

Conclusion

The gist of it is- if you want to be a contract farmer make it known! You’re unlikely to be offered a good opportunity unless you have a track record as a manager with the financial and technical results to support your application and ensure that the farmer and their advisors feel that you can pull it off. Therefore put in the hard years learning and developing and when the time is right make sure everyone in your network knows that you are looking and that you’re the right fit for the job!

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An Introduction to my Substack

Thanks for subscribing to this. If you’re reading this in May 2026 I assume it's because you signed up via my Instagram and so understand about our farming story and my work in the industry. However, I thought I’d start by explaining why I’ve decided to write a Substack.

This is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a long time. I have always written and since 2018 have rarely done it unless paid to do so. This has been a huge privilege (freelance writing is a notoriously difficult industry and I am very lucky that I don’t rely on it to pay the bills) but in some ways has taken the freedom out of writing. As a freelancer you pitch ideas to publications and if they like them they commission you to write the feature. I specialise in the agricultural sector and write mostly for farming magazines so the ideas I pitch are generally technical features on dairy. Alongside this I write for PR companies. You won’t have seen these bylines as the advertorials are generally published without one. The work for PR companies is something I really enjoy; it is often cross sector (writing about sheep!), includes press releases, and as I am provided with subjects to interview and a story I get to sit inside someone else’s idea.

What there isn’t in this niche of writing is space for our own story, my random observations, or any opinion writing. In my early 20s I wrote all of this on my own website; the “funny and relatable” list articles that were ubiquitous at the time, a diary of each day I hunted, what I thought about rural affairs. I had vague dreams of writing for one of the millennial publications of the era before maturing into a role in lifestyle magazines. The expectation at the time was that women would mine their personal lives for stories. I did this on that website. I was fairly shameless about it until two things happened. The first was that I met my now husband and I ran out of snippets about dating to layer in to my essays on hunting and rural life. The second was a social reckoning that the world didn’t need another privileged white woman writing about her life. Those millennial websites (Bustle, The Pool) died a death, the age of the confessional essay built some boundaries, and in 2019 I stopped hunting.

The last six years have passed in a whirlwind. Each year I make a note to myself to start more longform writing purely for my own self-indulgence. Every time I see an agricultural influencer release a (often ghostwritten) book or memoir I wince with envy and then remind myself that I can be resentful or do something about it. While walking I find a seed of inspiration, realise it won’t fit any of the magazines I write for, and move on. There’s always something else to do and my focus has been (probably fairly) on what I know will pay me; commissioned articles, the farm, my day job.

The move to Devon seems a fair place to start this Substack. Everything is new. We’ve gone through a process of applying for and securing a new contract. We’re learning about organic farming. The landscape is beautiful in a way that has me connected to the land like never before. There is hope and excitement and yet a deep hiraeth for leaving Wales. Spring calving works on a seasonal calendar that invites storytelling.

If you’ve got this far- thank you. I won’t commit to a strict publication schedule because my own writing has always worked from inspiration and available time rather than strict discipline. I will try to write every few weeks as a minimum.

I’ll start at the beginning with a post about looking for contract farming agreements and then bring you up to date.

I write this at 7.30am on the 1st May. First cut silage is in the clamp, fog lies heavily and silently across the landscape, and the bluebells are in full bloom.