Kyle Catlin took home the Young Farmer of the Year award this year, having worked hard to build his business from the ground up
You have to go back five generations to find a direct link between Kyle Catlin and farming, yet he clearly has it in his blood. Catching up with him just outside of Northampton, he says that since he could remember, he wanted to farm. However, it wasn’t always clear how he would get there.
“My parents aren’t in the industry, so it’s not like they knew people who could offer me work experience,” he says. “When I was 10, I started helping on local allotments, then I joined the Young Farmers when I was 13, which opened the door for helping on farms.”
On weekends, and before and after school, Kyle would work on dairy and beef farms in the area. With each new job, he got new opportunities with other farmers in the area. “It helped that I was ready to just ask the question,” he explains. “I started working with a contractor after hearing them talk about needing staff in the local shop. I just piped up and said I could help.”
He was just 16 when he started working with contractors in the area, splitting his time between livestock farms and contracting work. He also purchased a small number of lambs, keeping three of the ewes to start his own flock. Always willing to put himself forward, he approached Meikle Farming while out walking the dog and asked about possible college placements.
This worked in nicely with his Level 3 extended diploma at Shuttleworth College, after which he stayed on to complete a foundation degree in agriculture. Having his own flock of sheep also forced Kyle to put himself out there, as he needed to procure grazing ground.
“I spoke to the people who I was working for, and if they didn’t have any ground, they normally knew someone who did,” he says. “It is difficult to get a foothold in farming, but if you’re willing to speak to people, you’ll find that they are friendly and often more than happy to help.”
Shifting to contracting
As all the ground he could rent was being used for grazing, Kyle’s quickest route to start his own farming business was to start contracting. This was combined with efforts to build up his own livestock enterprise. After working with local farmer Bob Borrick for two years, when he passed away, Kyle took on what remained of the Herefordshire cattle herd.
He also continued to work for farms and contracting businesses in the area as a labourer, but saw an opportunity to offer small-scale operations in paddocks and on farms where larger equipment would not be suitable.
“I started by hiring equipment from the farmers I knew,” he explains. “I’ve always had a good head for figures, and it wouldn’t have been possible to justify a tractor at that point. Instead, I looked at purchasing a quad bike and topper.”
He decided on a Polaris machine, purchased from Day & Coles. During his research, he notes that he did come up against some resistance from other dealers. “It’s already incredibly difficult to source machinery and can be a real problem for those just coming into the industry. Some dealers didn’t seem to have much time for me because I wasn’t interested in purchasing any high-ticket items, without thinking that I might come back in a few years and be interested in a tractor.”
As the business has developed, Kyle has continued to reassess and change aspects of his offering. This hasn’t been focused on increasing the size of the operation – at least not directly – but instead on maximising profitability.
In some cases, this has meant reducing current operations. Kyle was paying for 81ha of grazing ground for the sheep, but noted that around 27ha of that wasn’t providing significant gains. Kyle dropped this rental agreement and reduced the flock to match, bulking out the income with contract shepherding that has boosted his profits.
Similarly, while looking to build the contracting side of the business, he has not been afraid to turn down work if the price isn’t right. “Social media has been great for agriculture because it allows us to reach a wider audience and explain what goes on in our industry, but it also creates a false reality where we only see the biggest machines and the biggest farms.
“Instead, we need to focus on the margins. Really question whether that investment will pay in the long run, or if taking on additional work or ground will add costs to the business that make it less profitable.”
He says that, having done work for businessmen who own ground nearby, it’s clear that farming is handled more like a vocation rather than the business it is. “There isn’t enough collaboration to balance the income across everyone. We have a lot of external pressures weighing down on us, which are unique to this industry. We’re the only business that doesn’t know what we’ll be paid after all that work.
“We’re so far ahead of the rest of the world when it comes to animal welfare, technology and soil quality, but there are still some who don’t treat this like a business, and if we’re going to have less support from the government, we can’t afford to not treat it like a business.”
Building to the future
From an outgoing labourer and contractor, Kyle is now looking to the future as he and his partner, Martha, are set to take over her parents’ tenant farm. The 310ha is owned by a trust and is down as an arable rotation.
While still working with Martha’s parents, Kyle is keen to implement different systems he has seen on the other farms he’s worked at. He’s integrating cover cropping and grazing into the rotation, with a plan to build a financially sustainable model that will allow the previous generation to retire comfortably.
“The rotation starts with winter wheat, after which we’ll put in a cover crop, which is grazed off before spring barley. We’ll do the same after the barley before a crop of oats, and we’ve got a spring beans crop which will go in every five years to limit the disease risk,” he says.
The farm has its own John Deere T560; a little overpowered for the current hectarage, but Kyle plans to add contract farming and additional tenancies, if possible, to increase the farm to 450ha. “The combine did 80hrs this year – although this harvest was exceptionally easy, but you can’t justify a £200,000 asset sat in the shed for 11 months, so if we can’t increase the throughput, we’ll have to make a decision on that.”
He’s also keen to find areas of diversification, including bed and breakfast cattle. This would not only boost income but would provide opportunities to extend the rotation to matter control weed populations. Producing feed on farm would minimise costs, while a wholecrop cereal cut would transport weed seeds off the field, and fodder beet would add rotation deep tillage to keep nutrients moving through the soil and rotate the seed bank through the profile for more control opportunities.
“If any of our grain doesn’t meet premium specifications, this could also be milled and put in the ration,” he adds. “Meaning we’re not accepting an unprofitable price after 12 months of hard work.”
Coming into an existing tenancy means that there is machinery on hand for Kyle to use. The farm currently has a Fendt 718 Vario, a Fendt 828 Vario and a Massey Ferguson 5711. The 828 is a 2013 plate with 5,000hrs on the clock, which he hopes to trade in against a new machine with a warranty. Following his experience with Day & Coles, he says it’s likely they’ll get the sale of his first major capital expenditure.
The farm also uses a Claydon Hybrid strip-till drill, which he says is an impressive bit of kit. “Despite the drought, our oats performed well this year. We were just 0.5t down overall. I can’t see us taking a step back and going back to ploughing, unless necessary. The small boost to the yield must balance against the high running costs.”
He acknowledges that he’s been lucky in a lot of ways, and that not every newcomer to the industry can find themselves with a tenancy in their mid-20s. “There needs to be an easier way to access information for new entrants,” he concludes. “There are wonderful organisations, but they hide the in-depth information behind paywalls, which can put people off.
“Agricultural college is a brilliant experience, but they have to cater to half a class who already know about farming, and half who need the basics explained, meaning no one really gets a full picture of how broad this industry can be. How many opportunities there are. We actually have a low barrier to entry because anyone with a bit of confidence and a willingness to work can find a job on a farm. We just need to figure out how to nurture them beyond that starting point and give them direction.”
