Renewable energy proves a lucrative diversification for Leicestershire farmer

Ambitious, out of the box thinking comes naturally to Leicestershire farmer David Haynes. Yet, 30 years ago, he hit a brick wall. The farm needed to progress and with the help of financial advice, he changed his farm practices in a brave move that’s still paying off today.

Mr Haynes scaled down his livestock enterprises, freeing up around 40 hectares of land for arable and began diversifying the business to develop new income streams.

“Historically, rearing beef cattle had been a profitable enterprise but with increasing store cattle prices and volatile grain prices, the ongoing instability was too risky to