The Country Smallholder
The Country Smallholder is Britain's biggest-selling smallholding magazine, published by Kelsey Media and aimed at hobby farmers, poultry keepers and everyone interested in the self-sufficient life. The title was created in 2022 through the merger of two established smallholding magazines, Country Smallholding and The Smallholder, launching with its September 2022 issue. Published 13 times a year, it covers everything from keeping livestock to growing fruit and vegetables, from poultry and pigs to alpacas and eco living, with free veterinary advice in every issue. The magazine is written by active smallholders and serves an ever-growing UK audience interested in living a cleaner, greener and more sustainable way of life.
The 2022 merger
The Country Smallholder was born from the union of Britain's two leading smallholding titles. Kelsey Media, publisher of Country Smallholding, announced the merger of Country Smallholding, described as Britain's best-selling smallholding magazine, with The Smallholder to create a single new magazine. The new title launched with the September 2022 issue, which went on sale on 18 August 2022. The merger brought together the readerships and expertise of both magazines under one masthead, with the new magazine and its website, thecountrysmallholder.com, aimed at the ever-increasing UK audience interested in sustainable living. The announcement noted that the combined title would serve everyone from established smallholders to allotment owners, from those with a couple of acres to those aspiring to get more out of a garden or even a window box.
Country Smallholding: the best-selling predecessor
Before the merger, Country Smallholding held the position of Britain's biggest-selling smallholding magazine. Published every four weeks, it described itself as a must-read for anyone who wanted to live the Good Life, covering everything from keeping livestock to growing fruit and vegetables, from alpacas to eco living. The magazine came with a free Poultry magazine and, by its own account in its media pack, had been going strong for 40 years, with a strong focus on livestock and regular feature series on sheep, pigs, goats, cattle and alpacas. It was aimed at seasoned smallholders and novices alike across the UK and Ireland, and its passionate coverage of self-sufficiency made it the most popular magazine in its field.
The Smallholder: a title founded in 1910
The other half of the merger brought more than a century of heritage. The Smallholder was founded in 1910 for small farmers, allotment holders and gardeners, and was published monthly, latterly by Packet Newspapers in Falmouth, Cornwall, as a national UK magazine. Journalist Graham Smith had edited it since March 2013. Its long history gave it a devoted readership and an archive stretching back to the early twentieth century, a heritage that the new merged magazine inherited. The combination of Country Smallholding's market leadership and The Smallholder's century-long pedigree gave The Country Smallholder a formidable foundation.
Editor Liz Wright
The Country Smallholder is edited by Liz Wright, who has been at the heart of the smallholding community for more than 30 years, living on a smallholding in the Fens. She previously edited The Smallholder magazine and holds an extensive collection of its issues dating back to the first editions of 1910. Wright has met smallholders in Africa and Europe as part of the Guild of Agricultural Journalists and has written fourteen books, including four on self-sufficiency. Her deep practical experience and long engagement with the smallholding world shape the magazine's authoritative, hands-on editorial voice.
Livestock coverage
Livestock is the backbone of the magazine's content. Every issue carries helpful practical features on all aspects of smallholding, with information on pigs, sheep, goats, cattle and alpacas, alongside extensive poultry coverage. The magazine's livestock writing reflects its contributors' real-world experience: features explain breed choices, housing, feeding, health and handling for each species, written by people who keep the animals themselves. Poultry receives particular attention, continuing the tradition of the free Poultry magazine that accompanied Country Smallholding, with guidance on keeping chickens and other poultry for eggs and enjoyment. Free veterinary advice appears in every issue, giving readers professional answers to animal health questions.
Growing, machinery and rural crafts
Beyond livestock, The Country Smallholder covers the full range of smallholding skills. Growing fruit and vegetables is a core subject, with seasonal guidance on the kitchen garden, allotment and orchard. Machinery features help readers choose and maintain equipment, from tractors to smaller implements, with practical buying advice such as guidance on choosing between new and second-hand tractors. Rural crafts, property matters and machinery all feature regularly, alongside updates on the latest news and innovations affecting smallholders. The magazine also carries recipes using home-grown and seasonal produce, connecting the growing year to the kitchen table.
News, campaigns and community
The magazine keeps readers up to date with the news that affects their animals and livelihoods. Its website and print pages cover developments such as avian influenza, including reporting on vaccine trials and the impact of outbreaks on bird keepers and the poultry sector. This news coverage sits alongside a strong sense of community: the magazine is written by active smallholders, and its pages reflect the shared concerns, humour and practical wisdom of people living the smallholding life. The title's audience spans the UK, from full-time smallholders to those taking their first steps towards self-sufficiency.
The Good Life ethos
Running through every issue is the philosophy that made smallholding magazines beloved: the Good Life, the idea that a smaller, more self-reliant way of living brings its own rewards. The Country Smallholder speaks to readers who keep a few hens in the back garden as warmly as it speaks to those running several acres with sheep, pigs and an orchard. Its pages celebrate thrift, resourcefulness and the satisfaction of producing food at home, whether that means a glut of courgettes from the allotment or a first successful hatch of chicks. Eco living features sit naturally alongside livestock husbandry, reflecting how modern smallholders blend traditional skills with contemporary environmental concerns. This inclusive, encouraging tone, written by active smallholders rather than distant commentators, is central to the magazine's appeal and to its claim on Britain's smallholding readership.
The publisher: Kelsey Media
The Country Smallholder is published by Kelsey Media, the Kent-based independent publisher headquartered at Yalding. Kelsey publishes a wide portfolio of special-interest magazines spanning agriculture, equestrianism, motoring, heritage and lifestyle subjects, and smallholding titles have long been part of its stable. The company's decision to merge its two smallholding magazines into one stronger title reflected both the titles' complementary strengths and the growing public appetite for sustainable living. Kelsey noted at the time of the merger that a large majority of UK residents claimed to want to live more sustainably in the wake of the Covid pandemic, a trend that continues to feed the magazine's readership.
Frequency, price and availability
The Country Smallholder is published 13 times a year, maintaining the every-four-weeks rhythm of its predecessor, and launched with a cover price of £4.75. Subscription offers are available, including charity partnership deals, and the magazine is packaged in sustainable paper wrap. It is on sale in newsagents and supermarkets across the UK and by subscription direct from the publisher. The companion website, thecountrysmallholder.com, carries news, features, recipes and machinery advice between issues, along with a newsletter offering free updates from the world of smallholding. Together, print and digital give smallholders a constant source of practical guidance through the farming year.
