Carfrae Farm, East Lothian
Carfrae Farm, East Lothian
Family Running the Business
Trudi Cueto and partner Eric Linklater run Carfrae Farm alongside Tudi’s father Hamish and son Findlay.
Size
Carfrae Farm streches across 830 acres.
Farming Enterprise
The enterprise at Carfrae consists of mainly arable, with some land let for grazing.
The family also do some forestry, fishing and shooting.
Agritourism Business
Trudi set up two holiday let cottages on the family farm between 2018 and 2019 with the aim to develop the accomodation offering further with cabins.
The family are also looking to develop a restaurant in a woodland area on the farm to ensure vistors and guests get an expereince when they come to the farm to stay.
Length of Time Farming
The family have been farming at Carfrae for just over eight years.
Length of Time in Tourism
The family opened their first holiday let cottage in 2018 with the second following in 2019.
Current Challenges
- Finance strucutre
- Funding for Agritourism
- Marketing (website)
- Brexit uncertainties
Focus for 2020
The current focus for the family is to review and develop unused/underperforming assets in the business and complete a five year farm business plan.
They will continue to develop their business plan and apply for planning permission for the new cabins and resturant they plan to build.
Take Home Messages from Monitor Farm Meetings?
- Strength of marketing and branding for your business;
- Valuable to take time out and plan;
- It’s good to talk and share experiences with others in the fields, which helps highlight successes and pitfalls.