MANY people have an idyllic notion of farming but the reality is usually very different – hard work and long hours, often for little return. Business reporter PETER LINDSEY meets a family who have spent 40 years building their success story

THE Morgan family entered farming 20 years ago with 40 sheep on 50 acres of let land in Mayfield while both fully employed.

Now they run in excess of 320 acres supporting thriving egg, sheep and beef enterprises at Dunstars Farm near Cowbeech in East Sussex, and later this year will be moving into their own new farmhouse.

Having started from scratch, Peter and Lucinda Morgan still believe it’s possible for new entrants to build their farm business – but it’s not an easy ride.

Peter said: "You need to be in it for the long haul. It means hard work, you have to be flexible and ready to take opportunities as they arrive.

"Only five per cent of the reality fits the idyllic picture of farming most people have, but it’s been worth it."

The couple’s vision at the outset was to create a viable family farm in which their children could grow up and use as a base for their own future businesses.

As a result, their three children – Angus, Duncan & Georgina – have been involved from a young age and have their own responsibilities on the farm as well as active lives at school and in local sports clubs.

The Morgans believe that aside from hard work, factors such as good professional support, alternative sources of income, and working at enterprises that needed low levels of capital and could be developed from a relatively small scale, have all been important.

Peter said: "You have to play to your strengths. Lucinda has a degree in Agriculture and is the day-to-day ‘livestock’ expert.

"This is as well as marketing all the eggs and being a hands-on mother of three very active children, school governor and Pony Club event organiser – she works very hard.

"I do the heavier manual work, the tractor-driving, new projects such as new land, managing finances and so on. It’s a team effort every day."

The Morgans supported the development of the farm with external income – firstly paid employment, leading on to a business in marine engineering, Helmsman Systems, which they set up in 2010.

These provided income throughout and also assets to borrow against. They took specialist advice from local agents Batcheller Monkhouse to prepare loan applications, and while their main lender, The Agricultural Mortgage Corporation (AMC), is a specialist in farming, it was able to use these other income streams as security.

Other successful strategies have been to remediate redundant land, often in lieu of paying a commercial rent. Then in 2003 they purchased the 75-acre Dunstars Farm, providing a secure base with most of the other land rented on long term Farm Business Tenancies.

Peter said: "But a fair portion of our land is still under ‘gentlemen’s agreements’; trust is a strong part of farming and the support and advice we’ve had from local farmers and landowners has been critical."

He says the family also aims for higher value markets where possible, such as the free range eggs sold under the Dunstars Eggs brand into local retailers.

They are very conscious of costs, margins and market trends, which is why they will soon stop the dairy bull beef enterprise they have run for ten years and change to suckler beef, breeding and rearing their own Continental-breed cross store cattle.

Peter said: "Equally we could move away from this if the market doesn’t hold up. Being sentimental doesn’t pay the mortgage. It’s the same as when we took our flock of Welsh Mule X Suffolk breed ewes from 40 to 750 then back down to 400 as we got to understand the margins and markets better.

"With fewer but better quality cattle the sheep numbers will soon be going back up over 500 – sheep are well suited to the Wealden landscape."

After 20 years of living in a mobile home they are about to move into their own farmhouse, funded by another loan from AMC and built with Agricultural Tied Dwelling status at Dunstars Farm.

The Agricultural Needs test for securing its status as a ‘farmhouse’ was challenging, especially the financial aspects because of continual re-investing, but the amount of livestock they had helped with their case.

Peter said: "We needed to provide a set of accounts proving the viability of the farm business and our agents were very important in portraying this.

"But we need to accept that even for our size of farm in this part of the world, diversified income will carry on being a necessity.

"All our farmer neighbours have secondary businesses – whether farm shops, contracting or selling farm supplies.

"So while we now have the life we want and firm foundations for the future, we can’t afford to let those extra income streams go any day soon."