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NFFN at Groundswell 2024: Supporting The Next Generation of Farmers Session Recap

England
new entrant
regenerative farming
Events

Our panel consisted of NFFN Champions Elise Sutton, Ana Reynolds, Matt Elphick, and NFFN England Vice Chair Holly Purdey, with Anthony Curwen, NFFN England Vice Chair, chairing the discussion.

At Groundswell this year, our session focused on the key topic of new entrant farmers. Several of our Farming Champions and Steering Group members spoke to a pleasingly large and enthusiastic crowd in the Discussion Tent during the festival, which was a welcome, if unexpected occurrence, considering the event was one of the first talks on the Thursday schedule at a bright and early 9 a.m. The panel shared their personal experiences of entering the world of regenerative agriculture, provided advice for those at the beginning of their journey and discussed how to encourage a new generation of food production enthusiasts into the industry. 

New entrants are our lifeblood; we won’t have a future without them.

Anthony Curwen, NFFN England Vice Chair

Teething troubles

The panellists started by sharing how learning traditional farming skills wasn’t their biggest challenge in the early days of their agricultural careers. It became clear that anyone entering the industry must be ready to learn about topics far wider than simply growing crops or looking after animals. NFFN Champion Ana Reynolds, who works on her husband’s family farm in Northamptonshire, told the audience that you do not have to have such traditional farming skills to be of value to a farming business and her background in law and the automotive industry brought a different perspective and set of skills to their family business. She said it was imperative to “work out what your contribution is and be yourself”. Ana spoke further about the many grants and bursaries offered to support newcomers but disclosed that finding out about them in the first place was half the battle.

Meanwhile, fellow Champion Elise Sutton said she had a steep learning curve surrounding the business and paperwork side of running a large organic herd of cattle when she started working as a stockperson for Natural England at its Cherry Lodge Farm in Wiltshire.

NFFN England’s Holly Purdey said that, in her opinion, access to land will always be one of the biggest issues newcomers will face and one of the largest issues we need to overcome as a nation to make farming more attractive for new entrants. “I challenge landlords to keep small farms small,” she said. "That was how we could take our farm on with low capital.”

Session Chair Anthony, speaking from his position as Estate Manager at Quex Park in Kent, challenged the landowners at the event to make a practical difference to someone needing to get a foot on the ladder by offering them a small piece of land to start growing food. “New entrants are our lifeblood; we won’t have a future without them,” he said.

Entering the industry as a tenant farmer

For Holly, who farms on the edge of Exmoor, the session was an opportunity to share some practical tips from her experiences as a National Trust tenant farmer. Her biggest recommendation to anyone starting out was not to automatically find a Land Agent to complete the application and to instead apply for tenancies yourself. “Our application spoke to people because it was honest and obviously us,” she said. “It was clear we were truthful to ourselves, and the application was not a generic document.”  In her experience, being herself and not being afraid to make mistakes in her application was what made her stand out from the crowd.

Holly said it is also vital for tenant farmers to cultivate positive working relationships with their landlords. She told the tent how this was particularly valuable when, in the early days, they struggled to pay rent following a TB outbreak. Their landlord stuck with them because they clearly had a vision and were trying in the face of difficult circumstances. “We need to be honest with ourselves about what we are capable of and not be afraid of making mistakes along the way,” she said.

NFFN Champion Matthew Elphick, who knew from around the age of 12 he wanted to farm despite having no family connections to agriculture whatsoever, also spoke of how important the support of organisations had been along the way to setting up his microdairy in Surrey. In his case, the Countryside Regeneration Trust (CRT) took him on as a sitting tenant after obtaining his right to farm the land more informally. 

The biggest issue our industry faces is insularity.

Anthony Curwen, NFFN England Vice Chair

A warm welcome from the farming community?

The panel shared how they had felt as newcomers to the world of farming. Elise said her experience of the farming community was largely positive and welcoming, to the extent that she enjoyed valuable, informal peer-to-peer learning at the local pub. She advised that all new entrants should “surround themselves with people who are super nurturing”.

Elise also looked further afield when wishing to surround herself with fellow farmers. At a time when social media is much maligned, she said it had been “a great tool”, using it to join a community of like-minded young farmers from across the world. "Getting to know them has been the best thing for me,” she says. “I learn from farmers worldwide, and I can pull that knowledge into my farm.”

Holly, though, said there was work to be done. “We need a farming community that is more supportive and more welcoming,” she said. “We need to be bringing people onto the land and supporting them, not waiting for them to make mistakes and then saying we could have told them not to do that.”

Anthony also threw down the challenge to existing members of the farming community from the chair. “It’s really important to understand that people outside the industry can bring so much to it,” he said. “The biggest issue our industry faces is insularity.” 


Making the finances stack up

Holly opened up a conversation on the financial side of being a new entrant in the agricultural industry: " As farmers, we need to talk about money.” She spoke of how she had initially farmed sheep to bring in money quicker and how her husband continues to work off-farm in a self-employed role, which helps balance the books while also ensuring he can be available for lambing and calving season. “We’re not honest enough about the finances as an industry,” she said.

Holly also decided to view starting a farming business with low capital as a positive: "Just to flip the coin, it can kind of be freeing.” She described how her family didn't have money to invest in expensive inputs, so “we effectively went cold turkey into our regenerative journey. It has been very positive.”

Matthew said that if he were starting out in farming again, he would grow on profit rather than debt. “I’ve always borrowed money, and it makes life tough.” Holly supported this statement, advising fellow new entrants to “look at every available opportunity before going down the debt route.” Ana said that with the benefit of hindsight, she would reach out to organisations willing to support new entrants that she knows are out there now.


Going into something with really low capital can be kind of freeing.

NFFN England Vice Chair Holly Purdey

Learn more about our panellists and their transitions to nature-friendly farming 

The links to their farmer stories below will help you learn more about each of the NFFN Champions who contributed to our session at Groundswell.


Recording of the Session

We hope to have a video recording of the session available soon. Watch this space, or sign up as a free member at the top of the page to be the first to know when it is available.


After an hour of inspiring and engaging conversation, we want to thank everyone who attended our session or asked questions, as well as our brilliant panellists and organisers.

We look forward to seeing you at Oxford Real Farming Conference on the 9th & 10th of January 2025 and at next year’s Groundswell on the 2nd and 3rd of June 2025.