How Oxbury New Gen has helped the Jakemans realise their childhood ambitions
“I don’t think there’s a day goes by where one of us doesn’t go, ‘Can you believe we live here?”
Stacey Jakeman is looking over the spectacular dales and hills of Wensleydale in North Yorkshire as she reflects on the journey that led to Penhill Farm, a 100-acre beef and sheep farm.
Stacey and her husband Sam grew up in the area and have always worked in agriculture but taking that final step to a farm of their own always seemed just out of reach.
“We’ve always been into farming but never had the opportunity to have our own farm until now,” says Sam. When they started looking at tenancies, some banks were asking for a 50% deposit, an unrealistic amount of money for two young people looking to get a foothold in the industry.
That changed when they discovered Oxbury New Gen.
Oxbury offered a 100% finance facility to support the tenancy, but just as importantly, they provided guidance to help the couple shape a robust, realistic business plan.
“It was really helpful for us because your mind can be blocked with your own dream of what you want to do, so it’s nice to have someone else to look at everything,” says Sam.
Oxbury’s support went beyond funding, Sam and Stacey also needed to demonstrate a strong, viable strategy for making their farm plans work.
“They looked over our business plans and cashflow forecasts and they made us think about whether we had too many eggs in one basket, what would we do with market fluctuations and whether we might have other things in place to back things up,” says Stacey. “They are very good at saying, ‘well this might not work, but have you thought about maybe trying this?’”
As well as advice from the bank, Oxbury arranged for the Jakemans to get some business advice from agricultural business consultant GSC Grays. “They went through our business plan with a fine-tooth comb and helped to give us a plan for the next five years,” says Stacey.
Sam and Stacey went through applications for five other tenancies before landing Penhill – “We were always pipped to the post by someone who already had a farming enterprise and was looking for more land,” says Sam – but since signing the dotted line, life has become a whirlwind of activity, which they have had to fit in around their existing jobs and young children.
“It hasn’t been easy,” says Stacey, “but working with Oxbury, they’ve been so helpful.”
“They just get it, don’t they?” adds Sam.
There’s no time to stand still. As they build up their livestock, their thoughts are already turning to diversifications and expansions, from a potential glamping site to a new shed for rearing young stock.
But sometimes you just need to stop and look around.
“Everyone’s just got a smile,” says Sam. “The kids absolutely love it. Even if it’s been raining all day and you’ve struggled to get the cows in or you’ve been chasing a lamb, you look around and you’ve got all this. And then you’ll find a little spot that you’ve never seen before. Every day is new again.”
“You can’t put a price on that,” says Stacey.