Smallholder associations and groups

This page lists all the UK smallholding groups, associations and societies that I have been able to find online. There are a surprising number of smallholder clubs around so it’s likely that there will be one somewhere near you!

Last update: 20 May 2024

Following a suggestion in the comments I’ve also included a link to the Accidental Smallholder. Although not strictly speaking a smallholder society or group, there is lots of useful smallholding information and the forum is particularly informative.

Please let me know via the comment facility at the bottom of the page if you spot any mistakes with the smallholder group information or if there are other smallholding groups or societies that should be included.

20 thoughts on “Smallholder associations and groups”

  1. Great resource. However, you’re missing the Central Scotland Smallholder Association. There’s a link on the DASH Smallholders Associations page. And I’d list the online Smallholders Forum at The Accidental Smallholder, too.

  2. Thanks for the tip and I did have Central Scotland Smallholder Association included in the past but the web address doesn’t point to a valid website (just a holding page) so I have excluded them for now.

    Eventually I may expand the list here to include other groups that don’t have a web presence but for now I’m only including those with working websites

  3. Hi there. Could you please add North Shropshire and Borders Smallholder Group. We are a friendly group with varied interests: from window boxes to acres and everything inbetween. Regular meetings held monthly on a Wednesday evening at Llanyblodwel & Porthywaen Memorial Institute. The group always welcomes new members. Enjoy an informative talk and afterwards chat and exchange ideas with other like minded people over tea,coffee and cake. http://northshrop-smallholder.co.uk/

  4. Thanks for the comment Su however I’m a bit stumped because the North Shrops and Borders group was already listed? I’ve double-checked the information though just in case…

    1. Hi Jennie, thanks for letting me know. I’ve added the Surrey group to this list and I’ll also include their details in my next quarterly update for the listings shown in Home Farmer

  5. Hello, Richard

    We are an eclectic & friendly mix of smallholders, gardeners, growers – pro-am – with an interest in supporting organics & traditional rural skills. Meeting once-a-month, around Mayo in the West of Ireland, but also running workshops, & working sessions, our website is: http://www.mayoorganicgroup.org, Facebook page as well, & open to all ages. Please add us to your listing – many of members are either ex-UK citizens, or have lived abroad.

  6. Thank you Richard for sharing this interesting list of smallholders groups. The spread really shows the vibrancy and character of UK smallholdings and is a great encouragement for getting started wherever you are in the UK and Ireland.

    1. Thanks for letting me know. I get the same thing when I tried it just now so it looks like their web domain has expired. I’ll see if there’s an alternative location for them now

  7. hi could you please add Cambridgeshire self sufficiency group to your list. As a group we try to encourage people to get involved in living in a more sustainable way ,and pride our selves on being a member led group sharing knowledge ideas. we have a monthly news letter and meetings provide free workshops unless we need to bring in some one from outside the group to lead it then there is a small charge. we welcome all members from a window box to a small farm or allotment. one of our main events is the popular Cambridgeshire potato day
    kind regards Mick Matthews Chairman

  8. I have got 2 acres of pasture land and I am getting trouble with the Leicestershire Council is there a organisation to help us in these matters because the Internet says I can put livestock on it I have got me holders number but the cancels dead against me doing farming on it is there a hotline number I can call call to discuss that issues because the council are pretty well negative attitude

    1. If your land is officially registered as “agricultural land” then I’m not sure that the Council can have any say in the matter unless there are other factors around this. You can see more about the land use codes here: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rural-payments-land-use-codes-2020

      Have you asked the Council to explain their reasons in detail? If they have something specific then perhaps you can address that so they are happy for you to continue?

      Good luck

  9. I have acquired a small holding of 2 acres and need the grass cutting . How do I go about finding a local farmer to do this ?

    1. I would suggest that you talk to neighbours or other local people with similar setups to see what they do

      Alternatively, can you contact the previous owners and get some ideas from them?

  10. Hello, currently looking for a few acres to buy/lease/rent for a flower growing business in the south east of Sheffield area. Is there a small holders association in that area? Can you give us some suggestions of who to contact to look for land? Kind regards

    1. I’ve reviewed this list of smallholder groups and added a couple of new ones which might be close enough to help you.

      I expect you’ve already tried it but when looking for land to buy you could search on UK Land & Farms (https://www.uklandandfarms.co.uk/). Alternatively I would suggest searching for general smallholding/farming groups on Facebook and posting a question on there.

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