Flowers and flour: One farmer's bid to turn a profit

A fourth-generation flower grower has diversified into milling as a way of using up wheat grains he felt were not going to make him a profit.

David Wheatley runs an arable farm and apple orchards in Wisbech St Mary, near Wisbech, Cambridgeshire. He also grows and sells peony cut flowers - but found himself with 100 tonnes of unsold wheat.

He said he hatched a plan to mill it into flour and travelled to France to buy a millstone and milling machine. He now produces artisan strong white bread flour that he sells via mail order.

The National Farmers' Union (NFU) says farmers in Cambridgeshire and nationally are "resourceful" and will often look for additional ways of bringing in revenue.

Wheatley is not a run of the mill farmer. He has found a niche making social media posts, that also feature his family, documenting the trials and tribulations of farming, he currently has 500,000 followers across various platforms.

"I had 100 tonnes of good quality wheat left in my storage shed but the prices were not good, meaning I wasn't going to make much money with it," he said.

Wheatley said his idea was to turn the crop into profit by milling it into flour, which he sells via his website.

"Orders went so well on the first day, I had to stop taking more, as I can only produce 15kg of flour an hour," he added.

"I sell the flour for £2 per kilo plus £10 post and packaging, mainly in 7.5kg bags for £25 and can dispatch anywhere within the UK."

Wheatley also grows and sells peonies and uses a cold store on his farm for his milling, which in the summer normally houses the cut flowers.

A NFU spokesperson said 90% of farm businesses were small and medium-sized enterprises and increasingly needed to create additional income by exploring other business opportunities.

"Farmers in Cambridgeshire, and across the country are resourceful people and will often look for additional ways of bringing in revenue to support their main business of producing food for the nation," the union said.

It added that many farmers hosted weddings on their farms, some farmers run farm shops - and an increasing number of farmers were becoming involved in renewable energy, playing a big role in supporting efforts to tackle climate change.

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