Vision
Farming is about people as much as it is about
produce and profit. My vision is
concerned with growing healthy food and healthy futures, and is best summarised
by a quote from Masanobu Fukuoka’s book, One
Straw Revolution:
The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the
cultivation and perfection of human beings.
I
am looking to form part of a small group and together develop a series of rural
enterprises on a farm. This plan is
tentative and designed to spark discussions towards forming the group, finding
a site and together producing a final plan with which to approach key
stakeholders such as planners and investors. The holding would be mixed, and based
on Permaculture, sustainable design systems.
The site would be both outward and inward facing: a destination for enterprises
that are accessible to, and serve the local community, as well as provide a home
for the group who will manage and develop the enterprises. The site would be managed cooperatively and
would apply one of the many possible land partnerships readily facilitated by new
legal structures. It is recognised that there is a
strong need for farming to change and innovate. Three proposed developments were recently
announced by the Coalition Government that look set to boost rural economies and
will support this initiative: investment in rural ICT infrastructure, the
opening of Rural Enterprise Hubs, and grants for Women in Rural Business.
The
farm would be an exemplar rural enterprise; economically, ecologically and
socially. Enterprises could include a
mixture of the below:
2.
Market
garden
3.
Produce
shop
4.
Field
kitchen/café
5.
Sheep
rearing to produce wool for specific markets
6.
Forest
school
7.
Education/skills
provider & facility
8.
Retreat
destination
9.
Leased
office/workshop space to SMEs
1.
Tourist accommodation and activities
The market
There
are several, inspirational rural enterprises in Devon and Cornwall:
All
offer unique opportunities for members of the public to engage with the natural
world. Their excellent reputations and sustained, economic viability testify
that there is a demand for diversified land enterprises. The initiative that I
plan would enter an established market with unique selling points:
1.
Community
accessible: a local destination embedded within the village/town providing
services and employment/volunteering/education opportunities, and linked to
local businesses
2. Cooperatively
managed Community Interest Company (CIC): a small group with diverse skills and
qualifications manage a range of activities and are accountable to community
stakeholders
3. A network of associates with the expertise to deliver
specialised services in addition to the skills of the core group, enabling the
business to expand and adapt
4. Strong links to Plymouth University; health and community education/placements/research
4. Strong links to Plymouth University; health and community education/placements/research
5.
Holistic
vision combining low-impact living with sustainable enterprise
Below
is a more detailed plan relating to one of the many potential enterprises that
would comprise the Community Farm.
Community Farm Plan
Rationale
‘Care farming’ is the nationally recognised
term for the therapeutic use of farming practices by Care Farms UK. Care farms utilise the whole or part of a
farm, be they commercial agricultural units, smallholdings or community farms,
to provide health, social or educational care services for one or a range of
vulnerable groups of people. Care
Farming is a growing national movement in the UK. The popular BBC television programme
‘Countryfile’ highlighted care farming as an increasingly lucrative area of
farm diversification during a programme in Jan 2011. ‘Countryfile’ presenter and agricultural
journalist Adam Henson espoused the ‘financial and emotional rewards’ reaped
from care farming and one care farmer who was featured on the programme described
her business as ‘lively and profitable’.
Across the UK both the health and social care,
and farming sectors are currently facing unprecedented challenges. Health and social issues that include
obesity, depression, disconnection from nature and an increase in the number of
disaffected young people place much pressure on health and social care
providers and education providers. In
addition, the farming sector has suffered many setbacks recently that threaten
the economic viability of farming. Challenges
faced by the sector include BSE, foot and Mouth and bluetongue as well as
fluctuations in markets, late subsidy payments and adverse climatic conditions.
The business case for care, or community farming
hinges on the potential win-win scenario for both the health and social care,
and farming sectors. This is because Care Farming offers:
• Evidence
of positive outcomes
• Support
for individuals to develop confidence and promote participation
• Development
of employment skills
• Economic
viability of farming
• Community
bases
• Benefit
to the local economy
There are over two thousand Care Farms in
Europe. The Netherlands and Norway lead
the way in terms of numbers. In the UK
there is a growing movement towards green care in many contexts, ranging from
social and therapeutic horticulture (STH), animal assisted therapy (AAT),
ecotherapy, and green exercise activities.
There is robust evidence in support of Care Farming. According to the key findings of a research
project conducted by the University of Essex in 2008 entitled, ‘Care Farming in
the UK’ (Hine, Peacock and Pretty, 2008):
• Spending time participating in care
farm activities is effective in enhancing mood and improving self-esteem
• Working on a care farm can
significantly increase self-esteem and reduce feelings of anger, confusion,
depression, tension and fatigue, whilst also enabling participants to feel more
active and energetic
• Care farming therefore offers an
ideal way of helping a wide variety of people to feel better
Care Farming is one, reasoned response to the
Coalition Government’s call for the creation of the Big Society as it involves
small businesses focussing their efforts and profit on serving the wider community. There are currently 130 Care Farms in the UK
and 6 are in Devon; 3 Care Farms in Mid-Devon, 1 in the South Hams, 1 in
Teignbridge and 1 in North Devon. The
development of a community farm in Teignbridge, for example has the potential
to meet two[1] of
Teignbridge District Council’s four key strategic development objectives,
namely:
• To
achieve a sustainable pattern of development
• To enable the identified economic and
community needs of rural areas to be met whilst safeguarding the open
countryside from inappropriate development that would diminish its inherent
values
Teignbridge describes itself as
‘agriculturally important’[2]
area that needs:
• New
local employment opportunities
• Support
for agriculture
• Support
for community facilities
The community farm has the potential to meet
those needs by:
• Employing
a small team of local staff and volunteers
• Transforming
an existent farm
• Providing
an easily accessible community resource
Furthermore, by being firmly grounded in low
impact, sustainable farming practices, the community farm would contribute
towards meeting one of Teignbridge’s Environmental Strategic options:
• Minimise
land take/impact and protect assets
The community farm would have the potential to
be an exemplar in multifunctional agriculture by providing a community service
in addition to other enterprises such as the sustainable food production. In doing so it would derive extra value from
the land without compromising the local landscape. The finance section below
demonstrates how working with just small groups of people can yield a healthy,
financial return.
What we will
sell
The community farm would sell farm-based,
educational and therapeutic services to individuals and commissioners. This aspect of the business would be
small-scale and include arts and crafts, animal care and horticulture
activities for small groups or individuals.
The market
There is currently much pressure on health and
social care providers, the prison and probation services and on education providers
to offer suitable, adequate and affordable care and support for service
users. The market for Care Farming is made
up of the local Primary Care Trust, social services, schools, charities, GP
patients, Youth Offending Team and individuals.
The personalisation agenda in care means that service users groups are
directly accessible.
Payment
The national picture for fees on care farms
range from £25–£100 per day (most frequently around £40 per day). Funding sources for care farms vary
extensively with some funding coming from charitable trusts and others from the
Learning and Skills Council, Health Care Trusts, Social Services, Big Lottery
Fund and public donations.
Equipment
Protective clothing suitable for the tasks would
be made available for the clients as well as appropriate equipment for the
clients and in safe working order COSHH
Legal
requirements
The community farm would have demonstrable
standards covering areas such as:
• Evidence
of relevant training of staff to work with the expected type of clients
• Health
and safety signage suitable for the intended client group
• A children and vulnerable persons
protection policy available and formally acknowledged by any staff expected to
work with clients
• Feedback
and evaluation procedures in place
• A safety policy statement including
designated names and all relevant emergency contacts
• An
Emergency Aid Appointed Person on site
• A generic risk assessment available
for the site plus one including the specific activities that you are likely to
or know that you will cover with the intended client group and their abilities
in mind
• Maintained
health and safety records
• Disciplinary
procedure and dismissal procedure for the clients
• A
written complaints procedure
• First aid and emergency procedures
are in place, including accident and injury records / book
• Mobile phones or walkie-talkies are
available for all staff when working away from base
Insurance
Appropriate and adequate insurance would be arranged.
Management
and staff
The community farm would be managed by a
member of the group with the relevant skills and experience. In addition a
designated person will be employed and be responsible for working with
volunteers and clients. Staff and
volunteers will be Criminal Records Bureau Enhanced(CRB) checked.
Finances
Year 1
Based on running at 5 service users, attending
3 days per week, paying £42 per day and operating for 46 weeks of the year, the
community farm cashflow is as follows:
Gross Income
26460
Outgoings
Staff 9994
Training 300
Equipment 1380
Insurance 1500
Marketing 230
Total 13394
Total net income per annum = £13,066
Year 2
Based on running at the maximum, 5 service
users, attending 5 days per week, paying £42 per day and operating for 46 weeks
of the year, the care farm cashflow is as follows:
Gross Income
48300 Outgoings
Staff 21060
Training 300
Equipment 1380
Insurance 1500
Marketing 230
Total 24470
Total net income per annum = £23,830
Moving forward
If developing a multi-functional farm that is
both sustainable and successful is something that you would like to do I would
like to hear from you.
