Angove Farm Diversification Project: Get Inspired
Discover, from someone who has done it themselves, what attending the Farm Business Innovation Show could offer you and your land.
We asked Helen Angove, a diversified farmer, what she has done differently to the previous generations of farmers on her land. The small farm has been owned by the Angove’s for three generations, so what’s different now?
The Farm Business Innovation Show is all about showing you the potential of your land, through opening your eyes to diversification options. Your FREE ticket will give you the means to meet and greet the people who have diversified themselves. Get a taste of what your land can offer, and find out more about Angove Farm, here...
1900
The first generation of the Angoves were dairy and pig farmers. This was their only source of income, and that was enough to sustain a family with 5 children and a wife who didn’t work outside the home.
1960
The second generation were dairy and flower farmers for Covent Garden market. Latterly, Jack Angove also worked at J & F Pool in Hayle as an engineer, so milked in the morning and evening before he went to work, and his wife Eileen picked and bunched the flowers and looked after the children.
2000
The third generation have rented the land out for Horticulture, and Helen and her husband have both had paid jobs. Helen’s husband works for the NFU, and Helen worked in the City as an Investment Director for City Asset Management.
The travelling to London all the time became more tiring as she got older, and so she looked into how they could make enough money on a small unit to replace her income. They looked at literally everything, including growing Saffron in the fields and Truffles in the woods!
The only thing that they found was a viable alternative, was to knock down the ugly old concrete barns that were not worthy of retention, and build from scratch four new contemporary eco friendly houses that would be more sustainable for future generations. As Helen loves people and lives very close by, it made sense to do holiday lets and give up my job to run them.
Helen has been passionate about Nature Conservation all her life, and it made complete sense, given they are fortunate enough to own some land, to do what they can to help it. They started by planting trees they bought from the Woodland Trust. Then they grew some themselves from seed, and planted those out too.
She hopes she’s lucky enough to see them mature, but it’s the future generations who will really benefit. Helen thinks that’s important.
They also dug the ponds last year, and already wild brown trout have appeared from nowhere! Nature really is amazing!
Helen is currently reading the book ‘Wilding’, and is finding it so interesting......who knows what next?
Want to Start Your Own Diversification Project?
As you can see, owning land and farming from it is not enough to sustain most families these days. Adding new forms of income through your land is the best way to make ends meet.
That’s what the Farm Business Innovation Show is all about; demonstrating the ways you can profit from your land without the hard graft of traditional farming. Your FREE ticket will help you do just that, so head on over to the show on 6th & 7th November at the NEC, Birmingham. We’ll see you there!
