Matthew Williams

M W Farming, Criddon Hall Farm, Bridgnorth, Shropshire

  • Farm size: 1,100ha
  • Enterprises: Cereals, oilseed rape, winter beans
  • Annual rainfall: 724mm
  • Soil type:  Sand to a medium loamy clay

First generation farmer Matthew Williams grows wheat, spring oats, spring barley, winter beans, rape and triticale across 1,100ha of rented or contract-farmed land.

The rotation also includes n-fixing cover crops that will be let for grazing to obtain extra income and nutrients. The land is transitioning to low-disturbance tillage methods - a process that began in 2020.

Above all, without subsidies or land of his own as a fallback, Matthew is acutely focused on cost control and marketing to ensure the business is financially sustainable.

Transition goals: 

  • Improving profitability and margins
  • Continuing to improve soil health
  • Controlling and optimising input use
 

All articles featuring Matthew Williams

BUSINESS

How to bounce back from bad weather and drop in farm support

Labelled as a perfect storm, declining support payments, a new government, extreme weather and market disruption have combined to cause uncertainty and put incomes under pressure in 2024. Transition from…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

What you can do to reduce farm business risk in time of flux

Pressures on farming businesses have been mounting this year as Basic Payment Scheme reductions continue and both market volatility and interest rates remain high. So what can be done to…

NEWS

This Week in Farming: Mules, off-roaders and harvest latest

Welcome back to another edition of This Week in Farming, our round-up of Farmers Weekly’s best features and stories from the past seven days. Here are five of the biggest…

AGRICULTURAL TRANSITION

Zero subsidies puts focus on cost control and marketing

Arable grower Matthew Williams farms 1,100ha of rented or contract-farmed land – a situation that has brought profitability, sustainability and input cost control into sharp focus. Shropshire-based Transition Farmer Matthew…

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