Share farming is allowing one Borders farmer to remain in the business while allowing a new entrant a chance to get a foothold.
The concept is popular in New Zealand, where about 20% of its dairy herds are now operated on a share system. But it remains somewhat elusive in Scotland.
Stephen Withers, 64, of Upper Hundalee, Jedburgh, has operated his sheep enterprise in a share farming arrangement with former employee Neil Sandilands, 36, for five years.
Mr Sandilands is responsible for the day-to-day management of the farm’s 1,100 mainly Cheviot and Cheviot Mules ewes, 350 gimmers and the 2,000 store lambs that are bought in annually, while Mr Withers continues to run the farm’s 400-acre arable and 70-cow beef suckler enterprises.
“We could have rented out the land or employed a contract shepherd, but instead my wife suggested we speak to Neil, a young man who have worked with us previously,” Mr Withers told NFU Scotland’s land tenure conference in Edinburgh. The sheep enterprise has a separate bank account.
Mr Withers said: “I deal with the bank and the accounts, as well as supplying the land and sheep.
“The grazing is rotated around the farm as before so that I have benefits of the break crop.
“Neil does all the sheep work and draws £200 a week. After that, the profits are split 60:40 in my favour.
“The partnership pays for one lorryload of fertiliser each year. Neil is his own boss and spends about 60% of his time on my farm.
He also does contract work and shearing for other people.
“The point is that he would have found it very difficult to find a tenancy but here he is running his own business and building up capital.
“We are jointly putting up a shed at the moment and, when it is finished, Neil will own 40% of it.”
The partnership started out with 700 ewes. This year, seven grazing lets have been taken away from the main farm.
Mr Withers took on the responsibility for negotiating with the bank to arrange for the expansion and store lamb purchases as Mr Sandilands would have had difficulty raising finance with no track record of his own.
Mr Withers added: “This arrangement is working really well for both parties. I am delighted to see the farm expanding and busy when it could have been winding down.
“There is no tenancy agreement involved and no problems in that area.
“Neil has a chance to build up a business. But to make such an arrangement work there must be a trusting relationship between both parties. Importantly, the farm owner must not interfere.
“I help Neil out from time to time by taking lambs to the market and jobs like that, but the management decisions are all his.”