A third-generation farmer is hoping to future-proof his business by turning his hand from onions and sunflowers to grapes and wine.
Tim Youngs, of Grange Farms in Hockwold, near Thetford, Norfolk, felt he had to diversify due to increasing risks from issues such as the weather and changes in government support.
After assessing the soil, he opened a vineyard and hopes to produce 70,000 bottles of wine a year in future.
He said: “We need to make sure we are going to have a business here for future generations and, in order to do that, I assessed what we were growing before and I felt the risk was getting too great.”
Youngs specialises in onion production alongside wheat and sugar beet but has looked to shift production.
He said: “We are looking at drought-tolerant varieties of cereals to make sure they can grow.
“But in the last six years we have had three of the wettest and two of the driest years on record and so we don’t just need drought tolerant crops, we need crops that can survive extreme wetness as well.”
Youngs said barriers faced by farmers including hot, dry and wet weather were “frustratingly large” [Edd Smith/BBC]
After analysing the chalk-rich soil, he found it was ideal for growing and producing wine and was similar to the Champagne region of France.
The vineyard stretches across 7.5 hectares (18.5 acres) with 31,500 vines, and produced six tonnes of grapes last year.
Youngs said: “We are in the second year of drought and so these vines are struggling a little bit so will produce a lower yield but higher-quality grapes.”
He said: “We would like a level playing field. At the moment we have had a subsidy for food production withdrawn, whereas we are competing with contemporaries in Europe who have still got support and over in America they have insurances to make sure they can survive.”
Previously a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said the government was “putting its full weight behind farmers” and “giving them the funding, tools and opportunities they need to succeed.”
Charlotte Gurney says the farm’s enterprise has grown from when it started as a traditional fruit farm and makeshift cafe [Martin Giles/BBC]
As part of the BBC’s Farmwatch campaign, BBC Radio Norfolk broadcast from White House Farm in Sprowston, on the edge of Norwich, where the Gurney family has been diversifying the farm.
Charlotte Gurney, who runs the farm, said: “It’s been extraordinary going from a traditional fruit farm to what you see today with a great number of businesses here. All the barns have been converted with lots of different independent businesses.
“We started out with a shed selling tea and coffee and some of our customers will remember I was baking some pretty atrocious cake and some terrible tea.”
Damien Abraham has thousands of bees that live on the orchard of the farm.
He said: “They pollinate the trees there in the spring and we had some rape here as well.”
The bees are integral in part of the cider-making process which happens on the farm.
Paul Cork from Norfolk Raider Cider said: “We are flat out. While the sun is shining we will produce cider.
“We came up here after making about eight gallons of cider. Last year, we made 20,000 litres using apples off the farm… we’ve grown and grown – this is our busiest year.”
Do you have a story suggestion for Norfolk? Contact us below.
Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.