Shepherds Huts Diversification

Securing the Future: How One Farming Family Diversified with Wells Shepherds Huts

For generations, Ian's family has worked the land on their 140-acre beef and sheep farm in Lancashire. But like many small farms, it was a labour of love rather than a lucrative enterprise. With each family member juggling full-time jobs, farming was a secondary income until Ian, his wife Joanne and his parents, Frank and Judith, decided it was time to diversify.

The Spark of an Idea

In 2008, while on holiday in Dorset, Ian and Joanne came across a shepherd’s hut—a sight they had only ever seen on television. The encounter left a lasting impression on the couple. When the opportunity arose to purchase a dilapidated shepherd’s hut in 2010 from farmers over the border in Yorkshire, they seized it.

“The farm we bought it from previously used it in the fields at lambing time. We renovated it, and it’s our office today.When we took it apart, we found the date 1832 on the back axle, which we suspect is the manufacture date,” Ian recalls. With a heritage as rich as Ian’s farming lineage, the 200-year-old hut became the cornerstone of what would become Wells Shepherds Huts.

Building a Business

Ian’s skills as a joiner and his father’s experience as a fabricator made them the perfect team to transform their passion into a business. After some tough years running a construction company, the idea of building shepherd’s huts began to take shape. In 2019, they officially launched Wells Shepherds Huts, offering handcrafted huts to a diverse range of customers— from farmers and landowners to office workers simply looking to work from home.

Each hut takes up to four and a half months to build, with meticulous attention to detail. Customers can customise their huts, choosing from various sizes and styles, from traditional off-grid designs to modern, tech-equipped units. The Wells family ensures that each hut meets the unique needs of their clientele.

Supporting Fellow Farmers

The Wells family’s mission extends beyond their farm; they are committed to helping other farmers secure their futures as well. “I’m very passionate about what we do. We don’t just build shepherd’s huts; we create dreams,” Ian says. “If we can provide a service to a farmer to create a diversification project that allows them to keep farming, then we feel that we’ve done something successful.”

Understanding the pressures of running a farm while planning a diversification project, Ian and Joanne offer an end-to-end service for their clients. From handling planning and architectural needs to supporting the marketing of the new business, they ensure that their customers are well-supported at every step.

Starting a glamping site can be a fair investment, and Ian and Joanne are dedicated to providing potential customers with the information they need to make informed decisions. Ian has even created a series of free blogs on their website, covering a wide range of topics to help prospective customers in their research.

“We have customers where the income from the huts is paying for their annual bills. Clients with five or so huts who are earning north of £100k a year. That’s supporting their income, their farm, their future,” Ian explains. By reducing VAT on some of the larger huts to just 5%, they offer substantial savings for those looking to invest in this opportunity.

Expanding the Vision

The Wells family’s passion for securing the future of farming is clear, but what lies ahead for Wells Shepherds Huts? “We feel in the business that we’re at a point where we need to expand and increase our output. The demand is there with the glamping industry growing, and we just need to be calculated with our infrastructure and what’s right for us. We’re most likely looking at taking on more people, which is exciting,” Ian shares.

Launching the business also provided the family with the opportunity to look to the future of eventually handing over the running of the farm from Ian’s mother and father to the couple in the coming years. Ian urges other farmers not to delay this conversation as it is important to keep the next generation of farmers farming.

Advice for Aspiring Diversifiers

As passionate advocates for farm diversification, Ian and Joanne have a wealth of advice for others considering a similar path. “Don’t go in with the blinkers on. Have a good look around because there are a lot of opportunities out there. Be vulnerable and have those often-tricky conversations—quite often sons and daughters will have fresh ideas that could really serve the farm, be open-minded,” Ian advises.

The couple encourage other farmers to have the confidence to take the leap to diversify. Building a complimentary business could secure the future of farming for generations to come—much like the 200-year-old shepherd’s hut that started it all for the Wells. 

To find out how NFU Mutual can help with your diversification journey, contact your local agency.