You Could Rent a Million-Dollar Farm in the UK for About $1.50 a Year - Modern Farmer

You Could Rent a Million-Dollar Farm in the UK for About $1.50 a Year

But you have to have mad shepherding skills and a head for conservation.

The Great Orme in Wales.
Photography National Trust

Called the Great Orme, which juts out from the country’s north coast, the area that boasts dramatic scenery and rare species, such as the Silver Studded Blue butterfly and a plant called the Welsh Cotoneaster, which is found nowhere else on Earth.

The region’s significant importance as natural habitat for these rare species led the National Trust – a non-profit that’s preserved places of historic interest and natural beauty in the United Kingdom since 1895 – to purchase the 140-acre Parc Farm last year for £1 million (about $1,470,000), along with grazing rights to 720 acres on the Great Orme. Their intent is to restore sustainable grazing practices to the area, which the organization believes will help maintain the ecosystem. And they’re on the hunt for the right farmer to help them.

Last week, the National Trust announced they were going to let Parc Farm – which comes with a farmhouse, a flock of sheep, and a 10-year tenancy – to a worthy farmer. The rent? One pound a year, or about $1.50. The idea of running this idyllic place must have struck a chord, because the organization has been inundated with inquiries from across the globe. At one point, they were fielding more than 100 phone calls an hour.

Applications are due June 10 at 12 p.m BST, and there’s a non-refundable fee of £15.00 ($22) to cover production costs. If you want to throw your hat in the ring, all the pertinent info is here. On June 13, a National Trust panel of five will compile a shortlist of prospective farmers, who they’ll interview starting on July 5. They hope to announce the winner by October.

Be warned, though: Although the area looks incredibly gorgeous, National Trust general manager William Greenwood says the job “is no walk in the park,” and will involve hard work in an area “exceptionally exposed to extreme weather,” according to the BBC.

Here’s a video that explains more about the type of farmer the National Trust is looking for to be a steward of their land:

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