Trewint Farm is a family-run beef farm in the Tamar Valley, Cornwall. Elinor Willcocks grew up at Trewint and, after training in productive horticulture, was keen to introduce new approaches that would support the land to thrive in the long-term.
The Tamar Valley has a rich history of market gardening, particularly fruit and flower production, which flourished in the late 19th century, with produce transported across the UK by rail. Inspired by this heritage, Elinor established a market garden on a plot at Trewint, using a traditional agroforestry approach that integrates apple cropping with flower bulbs.
When Elinor and her partner made plans to move outside Cornwall, she began looking for someone to take on the plot. Through her networks, she was aware of how challenging it can be for new growers to access land locally. She wanted to offer the opportunity to someone who shared her agroecological values – prioritising biodiversity and low-input growing methods – and so turned to Landmatch England.
Alice Baxter-Lindsay, a flower grower from Tasmania, had been searching for an opportunity through Landmatch. Hoping to settle in Cornwall, where her husband is from, she was looking to establish an enterprise that combined cut-flower production with education. When she came across the opportunity at Trewint Farm, she recognised it as the perfect chance to put down roots in the area, arriving with vans full of perennial flowers from her previous garden.
Elinor at Trewint. Photo Credit – Hanna Collins Documentary Photography
The Land-Sharing Agreement
Alice currently holds a one-year lease on the plot, with a review scheduled at the end of the term. If all goes well, this will transition into a five-year lease. For both Alice and Elinor, starting with a simple, short-term agreement has provided enough confidence to test the relationship – allowing them to understand what works and what may need adjusting.
As Alice explains,
‘it’s so difficult to rent small parcels through traditional means … (but) it doesn’t need to be a massive thing upfront, you can do it in bits and pieces.’
To support the development of her enterprise, Alice plans to fund any infrastructure improvements she introduces during her tenancy, such as a potting shed. Should her lease come to an end, Elinor has agreed to buy back any approved infrastructure, subject to depreciation.
Reflecting on the process, Elinor says:
‘When we were working out our land agreement, Alice and I both wrote out our heads of terms (with the help of our representative from the landmatch programme), which really helped to affirm that we held similar values for managing the land and also made sure that all bases were covered if something were to go wrong.’
Establishing on the Plot
Alice arrived on the land in spring and immediately got to work clearing it, as it had needed attention since Elinor relocated. She has since bedded in a range of her existing perennials, bringing roses, peonies, verbena and herbs from her garden in Scotland. At the same time, she is making the most of the milder Cornish climate, which allows her to grow later-blooming flowers such as zinnias, dahlias and chrysanthemums.
Thanks to all her efforts, Alice was already able to begin selling flowers in early summer, including some stems that Elinor had originally sown. She is optimistic about the season ahead, expecting a good harvest and feeling positive about the future of her new enterprise.
Elinor’s family have been impressed by the transformation so far. It has been remarkable for them to see how quickly the land has become productive again and to watch Alice already selling flowers from the plot.
Looking to the Future
With the land-sharing relationship progressing well, Alice plans to launch an educational offering next year. She is already exploring ways to develop the site to improve access for the local community. Keen to share her growing expertise and her enterprise, she hopes to use the land as a space to teach people how to grow from seed, and draw on her experience as a florist to run arranging workshops at Trewint.
Elinor is equally enthusiastic about continuing to share the land and hopes that Alice’s workshops will pave the way for regular educational activities and group visits on the farm.
Reflecting on her experience, Elinor advises others considering a land match:
“Try to find someone with similar values and ethos to yourself, be clear about your boundaries and what you’re prepared to offer; and be prepared to open yourself up to the wonderful opportunities a land match could bring.”
We’re coming up to 6 months since the launch of Landmatch England and have been thrilled with the response we have received so far, really highlighting the appetite for a land matching service for the farming community.
In April, we sent out a feedback form to our registered users to gather early-stage feedback on our progress. We wanted to gain information on how to adapt our service to ensure we are meeting the needs of the sector wherever we can.
The feedback we have received is overwhelmingly positive, with 90% of respondents stating that the matching process and surrounding support are helping them to work towards their goals so far, with one respondent stating:
“Our facilitator has been invaluable in helping us co-ordinate our potential landmatch by helping us put in place a clear pathway for the negotiations around both parties expectations and needs. We feel the support offered has made the process of building the relationship less stressful and there is a sense that we are managing the process properly, and the best way possible for all concerned.”
Suggestions
We asked for your suggestions for future events and training, and we heard that there is a substantial need to address knowledge gaps, such as in business planning and different types of agreements. We have dates set for webinars over the next few months to address the need to tackle these issues.
There were also some really helpful suggestions that we are currently unable to meet, such as providing more staff. We’re currently in a funded year with a small staff team working part-time on the project, so please bear with us if sometimes we are longer than you may expect to respond to enquiries. We would love to bring more people into the team, but we do expect this to be a slow growth strategy and dependent on future funding and income potential.
We also recognised a useful comment requesting land agreement templates. As fans of fair and robust land agreements that are tailored to the specific situation and people within a land match, we are unable to provide template leases as this could constitute legal advice – but we can signpost you to resources and friendly professionals who can help.
Behaviour change
It was also really interesting to see what people are doing differently as a result of using the Landmatch England service. We heard from landowners who noted that they’re interested in involving their local community in food growing on their land, working more with local organisations, or changing their search criteria for a landseeker after chatting with one of the team. Landseekers also fed back on being more active in looking for funding, or amending their ideas after reviewing resources sent on by their regional coordinator.
Keep in touch
If you’re reading this after joining us on the Landmatch journey, please feel free to continue letting us know how we are doing at any time! We love hearing from you, and all feedback is gratefully received and reviewed. Your thoughts and ideas are actively used to continue to build on the service wherever we can and evidence the need for the service to our funders and decision makers.
This is a session for landseekers, especially those registered with Landmatch England, although anyone seeking to take on land for a new farming or growing enterprise is welcome to attend.
If you’re a landseeker looking for land, a business plan helps you clearly set out how your enterprise will work in practice. A great business plan will increase your chances of securing the right land opportunity, as it’s a vital tool for demonstrating credibility and viability to landowners.
This session was hosted with agricultural consultant Vicky Herbert, who has been an advisor to agricultural businesses for 5 years. Alongside her consultancy work, Vicky has spent nearly 10 years farming: working with livestock and growing vegetables at both field scale and market garden level. She has experience on both sides of land-sharing agreements has been working to find land with Landmatch England herself!
Vicky is currently an Agricultural Consultant for ADAS, and has previously worked as an advisor both with Business Information Point, Devon, as well as Defra. She has advised farm businesses of all sizes. Her experience includes working with farmers on the transition away from the Basic Payment System after Brexit; providing advice for on-farm innovation with small farms; and working with protected landscapes with a focus on nature-friendly farming.
This session took place after our Financial Fundamentals session on the 13th May. We will refer to key concepts from that session, so we recommend attending it or watching the recording in advance.
In this session, we explore:
The fundamental building blocks of your business plan Introducing the key elements that need to be considered to build your business plan.
Choosing the right agreement Understanding scenarios for different land-sharing agreements (contract, tenancy, and joint venture) and how they shape your business plan.
Key costs and considerations We’ll consider the key costs and considerations for forecasting, including infrastructure development, equipment costs, and paying yourself.
Understand the different land agreements available for a land match, and how to approach making the right decision for you.
With a range of land-sharing agreements to consider, it can be challenging to know which option best suits your needs. Landmatch England ran this session to help you navigate those choices with confidence and take the next steps in your Landmatch journey.
We were joined by Harry Epsom and Frederik Lean Hansen, from Epsom Rural and Abunda.
Harry is a Regenerative Land Agent supporting landowners and rural entrepreneurs with their land agreements. He has specialist training in permaculture and regenerative agriculture, which supports his professional land agency work helping people build viable and future-proof rural enterprises.
Frederik is a specialist in regenerative farm finance and supports farm enterprises through financial planning and business modelling. Frederik helps people to understand the economics of regenerative transitions, build robust financial frameworks and align enterprise planning with their goals and values.
During this session, we explore:
Key considerations when approaching an agreement – How your vision, values, and the resources available to you will impact the land agreement you choose.
Types of land agreements, and their differences – Understanding the differences between land-sharing agreements and when they might be useful (this will cover joint ventures, tenancies, share farming agreements, and contracts).
Moving forward with the right agreement – We’ll consider how to choose the right agreement for you, and what the recommended next steps are to put one in place.
You might find it useful to get some background by reading through Types of Land Agreements, written with Epsom Rural.
This session is ideal for anyone seeking or offering land through Landmatch England, and working towards a land-sharing agreement as part of a land match.
Landworkers’ Alliance is collaborating with the EU Farm Incubator network Access to Land, for two days of visits and workshops exploring different models supporting new entrants onto the land.
Our Central Coordinator, Rachael Forster, will be involved with two days of visits and workshops looking at different models supporting new entrants onto the land.
When: 16th June 10am – 17th June, 5pm
Where: Various locations near Callington, Cornwall (PL17 8EX)
Sessions will include:
Visit to Tamar Grow Local Farmstart
Working with local councils to set up a Farmstart
Visit to an Ecological Land Cooperative Site
Workshop with Basic Income for Farmers on their ‘Grow More Growers’ pilot farm incubator
