Monitor Farm meeting: Taunton

About the farm

Richard Payne farms 280 ha at Manor Farm, Heathfield, near Taunton. The mostly arable farm has been in min-till for more than 15 years. Farming on silty clay loam, his rotation includes winter wheat, oilseed rape and beans. He grows primarily for the animal feed market, selling forward and into pools to spread risk. Richard’s main challenges are consistent profitability, succession and knowing which investments to make for the future. By the end of the Monitor Farm programme Richard wants to have a better understanding of all his costs of production, particularly on the fixed cost side, and to benchmark himself against others.