Growing a business from a standing start

Brett grew up spending as much time as he could on his grandparent’s farm and knew it was where his future lay. After leaving school, he studied agriculture at Duchy College, while working on several dairy farms, including with his uncle who’d taken over the family farm. 

Having applied unsuccessfully for council farms in his mid-twenties, Brett began working for an agricultural supplies company. He moved around Devon and Cornwall gaining valuable technical and business experience, as well as becoming a registered SQP.

Preparing for business ownership

These roles and qualifications helped equip Brett for running his own business, together with taking on the role of Finance Chair for the Cornwall Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs in 2021.

His hard work and tenacity were finally rewarded last year when Brett secured a Tregothnan Estate farm tenancy just two weeks before his wedding to the woman he describes as “the wife every farmer needs!”

Brett and Rachael are now a year into that new agreement, running beef and sheep on a 170-acre grassland property, but the hard work isn’t over. Taking over the farm and starting to buy stock in late 2024, they hit the beginning of a price hike, with beef prices doubling in just a few months, so stock levels remain lower than hoped.

Brett is aiming for 200 head of cattle and hopes a clear TB test soon will enable him to start selling bull beef into the store market and build the herd from there. At the same time, he’ll be hoping his 50 Dorset ewes are in lamb, but what many might see as a stressful few weeks ahead, Brett views philosophically.

“I look at it as all part of farming,” said Brett. “It is what it is.”

Animal welfare is a priority, using his technical knowledge to implement herd and flock health plans and maintain a high health status across the farm. 

Balancing work on and off farm

Determined to succeed, Brett is supplementing his fledgling business income by contracting to a local vegetable producer, although he hopes to shift the balance of off-farm/on-farm work over the coming years.

Brett and Rachael’s vision is to be selling beef and lamb direct to consumers through a meat box delivery service, adding pork to the mix at some stage. Brett knows it’s a competitive market and the importance of “hitting the right price point.”

He describes his nomination for Cornwall’s Rising Star Award as being “way out of his comfort zone” and isn’t one to congratulate himself, but remains proud of all he and Rachael have achieved from a ‘standing start’.

About Cornish Mutual

Cornish Mutual has been putting farmers and the rural community across the South West at the heart of all we do since 1903. As a mutual organisation, we are owned and run for the benefit of our Members. Our insurance products and health & safety services are tailored to the needs of each Member, protecting what’s important and in the right way.

Our team comprises local farm insurance specialists rather than commission-driven salespeople, call centres and complex claims processes. We have regional experience, local knowledge and rural connections throughout Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset.

Find out more about our products here.