A young farming couple are bringing cattle back to a former dairy farm near Whitchurch, Shropshire, after more than 20 years as they build their first beef enterprise from scratch.

Sam Bourne, 31, and Tash Koop, 27, moved to Ruscoe Farm at the end of January 2026 after purchasing the 80-acre holding as first-time farm buyers.

Formerly run as a dairy unit, the farm had not seen cattle since 2004, with the land most recently used for winter sheep grazing and silage production.

Both Sam and Tash come from farming backgrounds but when Sam’s family farm was sold, their route into agriculture disappeared and they had to look at finding an alternative.

Tash says: “Sam and I never considered not farming; we’re outdoorsy people and it’s how we grew up; we just had to find another way in.”

The couple say Ruscoe Farm stood out because it offered everything they needed to start building a viable farming business.

“Ruscoe felt right. It had the buildings, the land and the location,” says Tash.

Just a few months after moving in, the couple re-introduced cattle, adapted existing buildings and started work towards their longer-term ambition of developing a 200-head beef enterprise.

Sam says: “The shed that the cows are in now was used as a cow shed years ago but needed a bit of upgrading.

“We moved the feed barriers inside so silage and feed weren’t exposed to the weather.”

Their current cattle include Hereford and Aberdeen Angus crosses, as well as British Blue calves. The plan is to run the Hereford and Angus cattle on a low-input grazing system, while the British Blues are housed on a more intensive system to help support cash flow.

Sam and Tash have plans to replace another older wooden shed with a more modern building this year. They have also carried out soil testing across the paddocks to guide nutrient management and have upgraded the EPC rating on the farmhouse to meet loan requirements.

Before buying the farm, the couple worked with advisers to build a three-year business plan.

Tash says: “We had to get the figures up to show it would work, and we looked at creating additional income through diversification to show the banks we were thinking strategically.”

After approaching several lenders, Sam and Tash secured finance through Lloyds, which worked with the couple to support the purchase and navigate the requirements involved in buying their first farm.

Danial Helsby, agricultural relationship manager at Lloyds, says supporting first-time farm buyers is important for the future of the sector.

“First-time buyers like Sam and Tash represent the next generation of farmers,” he says.

“Helping them take their first steps into farm ownership is about investing in the future of British farming and ensuring the sustainability of our food system for years to come.”

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