One of the most progressive and highly respected grassland dairy farmers in the UK industry, Robert Craig is showing the way forward for agricultural succession by offering two of his farm managers, Jonathan Slack and Mark Housby, a share of the business they are helping to build on his farms in the North of England.
Currently Chair of the Royal Association of British Dairy Farmers (RABDF), Robert Craig operates three highly successful grazing dairy farms at Penrith, Brampton and Corbridge, and he’s taking an innovative route to succession in partnership with his two outstanding farm managers.
Robert has chosen to offer the managers who run his operations a chance to buy a 25% share in his dairy farm business and an opportunity to build an equal stake as his successors.
With the support of his long-term banking partner, Virgin Money, Robert Craig is creating a farsighted opportunity to secure the future of his own farms, and of two exceptional managers whose enterprise and ability can play a vital role in taking the whole UK dairy industry forward.
“Finding good quality people to run my farms is absolutely essential to their success, and retaining them is a constant challenge. So offering these exceptional managers a chance to take a share in ownership gives me that security, and it gives them a route to the dream of owning their own farming enterprise and a share in the benefits of the businesses they are building.”
Jonny Slack, aged 35, currently looks after Dolphenby, a 700-acre tenanted farm near Penrith. Born and brought up near Wetheral, but not on a farm, his goal was always to be a farmer, but the prospect of owning his own business was a very distant dream. Having attended both Newton Rigg and Myerscough Colleges, he started work as a relief milker but a year after joining Dolphenby in 2015 he was promoted to manager, and he has recently become a shareholder in the business.
Now with his wife Lucy and one-year-old-daughter, Jonny is a stakeholder in a dairying business employing three full time staff milking 500 cows. He is excited about the future and immensely grateful to Robert Craig and Virgin Money for the support that has made this possible.
“It wasn’t without its challenges, of course, including valuing the business in the current economic climate. But I’m now much more aware of the numbers behind the business, and I’m allowed to invest to make it more efficient. I have a great relationship with Robert and there are no negatives, only benefits – and invaluable support from Robert to move the business forward.
“I wanted to secure something for my family, and I see this chance to invest in our own share of the business as the best kind of security.”
Like Jonny Slack, Mark Housby was not from a farming background but set his sights on a career in farming after being inspired by his stepdad. He started his career properly with Robert at Dolphenby in 2011, then after working in Leicestershire setting up a dairy enterprise, he returned to Robert’s recently acquired tenanted Farm, Peepy Farm near Corbridge, in 2018 to take up the management of establishing and commissioning a new dairy.
A former Grassland Farm Manager of the Year, Mark and his wife Hannah, who have three children, have already broadened the business with Robert’s encouragement, launching Golden Hooves, a milk vending machine network across south Northumberland, including one located at the nearby Tynedale Rugby Club.
Now with a 25% share in Peepy Farming Ltd and the potential to increase it, he feels his future in farming looks radically different.
"When you have a share in the business, you have a future in it, and you see its potential with a shareholder's eye. When I was helping my stepdad with the milking and being bitten by the bug, the idea of owning a farm or even my own stake in one was a pipe dream. Robert’s vision has made this a reality, and I know I can speak for Jonny as well in thanking him for this wonderful chance. I will always be grateful for his trust in us, and for giving me this freedom."
As a long time client of the bank, Virgin Money’s Head of Agriculture, Brian Richardson, says Robert Craig’s track record enabled the lender to support his two farm managers, and provide the funding for their investment in their own share in his dairy farming businesses.
“This is quite an unusual step in dairy farming and perhaps gives a vision of what the future might look like for more businesses considering succession on multiple sites. Robert has had a clear vision of what he wants to achieve and has created a structure we, as a bank, can support to provide succession for his own business and a clear commitment and ‘buy-in’. Jonny and Mark have both been backed by Robert, and he knows that the success of his business, now and into the future, depends on the quality of the people who run it.
"The whole agricultural industry is about people, and right now there is a looming question over how farming businesses can secure people and succession. It takes a forward-thinking person to think and act outside the usual box, and Robert is an inspirational and innovative leader in the dairying industry and beyond it. At Virgin Money we are fully prepared to support people like Robert, Jonny and Mark, and this groundbreaking approach to succession is something we hope can and should be replicated.”
A final word from Robert Craig: "I am immensely proud of what we have achieved in a relatively short time, and I am delighted that Jonny and Mark have agreed to make this huge commitment to the business and to the future of an industry they love. They are an ambitious team, always looking for new ideas and opportunities, and they have always inspired me. Giving them a chance to own a share of business is the right thing for the business and for their future, and it has given me a lot of pleasure.”