Incubator Farm Network to train new entrants

Apr 13, 2019

In January 2018 WWOOF UK attended a session on an Incubator Farm Network at the Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC). Steph Wetherell of the Landworkers’ Alliance has recently been in touch to update us on the progress that’s been made.

Following the ORFC session, a group of organisations fed into how an Incubator Farm Network might operate, and the Landworkers’ Alliance led on a funding bid to the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust to support this network being established. This funding bid was successful and in February 2019 myself and Adam Payne from the LWA began working on the project.

This project will include:

  • establishing an Incubator Farm Network and setting up a website page and communication system for the network
  • organising exchange visits to established Farmstarts and an annual gathering for the network
  • creating a ‘How to set up a Farmstart’ guide
  • carrying out a feasibility study into an accredited training programme
  • carrying out a feasibility study into a mentoring scheme
  • corking with MPs and Defra staff to influence policy around new entrants and incubator farms.

Please do get in touch to let us know of any Incubator Farm Projects that you think we should include or know about. We are hoping to launch the network later this year and organise our first exchange visit in early Autumn.

Contact: stephlandworkersalliance@gmail.com for more information.

Classifieds – Autumn Equinox ’23

Classifieds – Autumn Equinox ’23

Welcome to the WWOOF UK Classifieds section. Here, you can find postings from members and other friends of WWOOF UK regarding opportunities, job listings, property advertisements and more. Have something you’d like listed in our Classifieds section? Send us an...

Hive mind – letters to the editor – Autumn Equinox ’23

Hive mind – letters to the editor – Autumn Equinox ’23

Do you have a question for the ‘hive mind’? Do you have any answers to these questions? Do you have any top tips you want to share? Feel free to email the editor – editor@wwoof.org.uk Slugs galore! The latest question for the hive mind is...

Seasonal recipe – Autumn Equinox ’23

Seasonal recipe – Autumn Equinox ’23

Parsley Pesto Do you have a glut of parsley? We don't have enough customers for our luscious crop of parsley so we're enjoying it in bulk! But maybe you have a plant that's gone a bit mad in your greenhouse or herb garden and want to prune it back? Serves: 4 + •...

Barn to be wild

Barn to be wild

An opportunity to live in the Brecon Beacons Ten years ago I bought a dilapidated stone barn high on a hill in mid-Wales. I had been visiting the area for several years, staying in my campervan, walking and exploring. I started to look for somewhere to make a more...

The joy of reciprocity

The joy of reciprocity

By Sue Pritchard My WWOOFing relationship started at a tough point in my life. Newly divorced, a single parent, with caring responsibilities for my own parents, and running another business off the farm, I was hugely relieved that I had managed to keep the farm - our...