Bras give strapped farms a boost

Electricity, a phone and away we go....

As UK farmers struggle against some of the worst trading conditions for many years, a growing number of women are setting up businesses to supplement the family income.

The BSE crisis and the collapse in pig prices are among the factors which have forced farms to look for other ways of making money.

Sally Robinson, whose husband farms in north Yorkshire, was already offering bed and breakfast and cottage hire when she decided to branch out further.

A sample of the goods being sold

She set up Ample Bosom, selling larger size bras over the internet.

  "It was a case of finding something that interested us and that we could do from home and use the farm buildings," she explained.

"We converted the barn, which was just a store room, put in telephones and electricity and away we go."

Started last October with £80,000 from the local bank, the website has had 400,000 hits and the business handles orders worth £1,000 each day.

Even the brochure reflects the rural setting of the business - instead of a model in underwear it features a country scene on the cover.

"Occasionally if it gets too busy I take a walk round the block - here that's the village green," said Mrs Robinson.

Teething problems

A tranquil location has also helped Diane Thompson's beauty business boom.

She started several years ago as a mobile therapist and converted buildings on the family farm near Darlington as her clientele grew.

Anne Hodgson no longer has to travel miles to work

Mrs Thompson now supervises two other therapists working six days a week. A sideline of selling leisure wear has developed into a fully fledged boutique, the Designer Wearhouse, selling a range of evening wear.

But while clients welcome the ease of parking and the peaceful surroundings, setting up the premises was not easy.

  "We did have problems at the start with planning permission because they felt that something like this should be in the town and not in rural areas," said Mrs Thompson.   "But the whole point was keeping it in the rural area to bring in another income."   The business has also created jobs locally. Shop manageress Anne Hodgson had been travelling 100 miles a day to work as a fashion buyer in Leeds.

"Just before Christmas I was made redundant because the fashion trade wasn't going well and I didn't know which way to turn," she recalled.

"Now I don't have miles to travel - it's just 10 minutes up the road, so I'm very lucky."

To top it all

Customers wanting a hat to complement their new outfit need not look far. Just over the road is Get Ahead, one of 11 shops run by a co-operative of farmers' wives from Dumfries to Northampton.

Hats are proving very profitable, with margins of 60%

  Some of the businesses were set up with the help of grants from agencies keen to help farmers diversify.

Beryl Otley, who has been selling and hiring hats from her farm near York for 14 years, says the businesses are very profitable, with margins of 60%.

Many women are keen to take on franchises, but Get Ahead is keen to ensure that new outlets have a strong chance of success. Another three are currently in the pipeline.

  Some regions have special organisations encouraging farms to diversify as tourist attractions. And business ideas are becoming increasingly creative as farmers seek vital cash to keep their heads above water.