Everyone said food production would fall. That farms would go wild, SFI would green the landscape, and environmentalism would take root across the countryside. But the reality? It’s not quite what was expected.
After the closure of SFI to new applicants — and with the scheme’s ever-evolving, unpredictable structure — many landowners, ourselves included, are pivoting back to food production. Not out of idealism, but out of necessity.
With falling arable prices, shrinking margins, and support payments that are not just lower, but increasingly capped and conditional, the only reliable way to squeeze out a modest profit is through scale and intensity, not support-dependent stewardship.
But here’s the challenge: not everyone can scale.
The Challenge
What does that mean for family farms? For estates supporting multiple generations? For rural businesses already stretched thin?
For them, the answer is often diversification — enterprise stacking, adding value, or building new income streams from the ground up.
But here’s the rub:
Sales, frankly, is underdeveloped in many rural businesses.
Farmers are used to timing sales — grain after global price spikes, lamb before religious festivals — not creating demand.
So before you pour time and money into a new enterprise, take a page from the dropshipping playbook: Sell it before you make it.
Sell it before you make it.
Entrepreneur Alex Hormozi won’t invest in a startup without proof of sales. Why should your farm investment be any different?
Can you sell bird food before you grow it?
Can you pre-sell camping pitches before you lay the track?
Can you test your brand before you press the apples?
It could save you time, capital and reveal whether there’s real appetite for what you’re planning.
And when you’re ready whether it’s for help unlocking grant funding, improving access, or navigating planning for your next venture we’re here to support you.
Strategy. Planning. Delivery.
Would you like a designed version of this as a high-impact PDF for workshops or client conversations? Please give us a call.