The Sleaford arable business that took 600 acres out of wheat — and improved its margin

Stackyard Farms grows combinable crops on 2,400 acres of heavy Lincolnshire clay, third generation, seven full-time staff, £2.1m turnover. Last autumn Richard Maddison did the sum most owners avoid: his cost of production on the worst 600 acres was £196 a tonne against a forward price of £178.

“We were farming those fields out of habit,” he says. “The combine went through them because it always had.” The 600 acres went into a 15-year Countryside Stewardship agreement paying £384 an acre, with a 90-acre solar option on the poorest block at £950 an acre if planning clears.

The effect on the accounts: one fewer harvest casual, and a fixed-cost review that took the machinery replacement budget down £140,000 over five years. Turnover falls. Profit doesn’t.