Four farm business tenancy (FBT) opportunities for tenant farmers to take on sizeable lettings in Cornwall, Somerset and Devon have launched.
Cornwall Council is offering an FBT of up to 20 years for Trenarry Farm in Truro, while Somerset Council is inviting tenders for two large blocks of arable and pasture.
An 83-acre block of permanent pasture near Sidmouth, in Devon, is also due to hit the market this week.
Trenarry extends to 221-acres, and property consultancy Carter Jonas says it offers an opportunity for someone looking to establish their own farming unit or expand an existing business.
“A 20-year tenancy doesn’t come up very often, so this is a really exciting prospect for someone looking to take the next step in their farming career,” said Chris Anderson, partner at Carter Jonas.
“It would make a great starter dairy farm, and it has some very interesting features, such as an on-farm methane collection system.”
The council has invested heavily in slurry storage and is therefore stipulating that the incoming tenant must continue operating it mostly for milk production.
The slurry acts as feedstock for an on-farm biogas processing plant, which is let to Bennamann – a company working with New Holland to develop methane collection and processing. The slurry lagoon provides 2,773m3 of storage.
Trenarry’s land is mainly put to pasture and includes a substantial 43-acre block of woodland designated as a County Wildlife Site.
Mr Anderson said: “There is an area of species rich grassland too, and it is a requirement of the landlord that this is managed in a manner which protects it, by controlling scrub, keeping it grazed and not fertilising it.
Accommodation for the successful tenant comes in the form of a traditional Cornish stone-built six-bedroom farmhouse which will undergo significant refurbishment before the start of the tenancy on 1 April.
A range of traditional and modern farm buildings are located across two separate sites, within half a mile of each other.
Interested farmers need to be quick with their applications as the deadline is 7 February. A viewing day takes place on Tuesday (14 January).
Further up the country, Somerset Council has launched two parcels of land on separate FBTs.
The first, which comprises 127 acres of pasture, is located at Leaze and Selwood Farms in Lympsham, near Weston-super-Mare.
Jack Mitchell, partner at Carter Jonas in Taunton, said: “The land can be let as a whole or in two lots, and consideration will be given to tenders from new and recent entrants to agriculture.”
The largest lot has 103-acres split across eight fields, while lot two is 24 acres across two enclosures.
Tenants looking for land close to Ilminster can tender for 85-acres of arable and pasture at Shave Farm in Horton as a whole, or in two lots.
A two-year FBT is available on the land which has predominantly been used for arable cropping alongside a smaller area of pasture.
Tenders on both Leaze and Selwood Farms and Shave Farm are due by midday on Wednesday 26 February.
