Commiserations, Ian. I'm gearing up towards a similar predicament...although I haven't started a business yet I started the veg garden last year and built a large polytunnel with the intention of growing most of our fruit and veg for me and my partner. It's a huge amount of work involved for something that is at the mercy of changing weather patterns. I managed to grow a fair amount but also had large failures (carrots, fennel, etc) and some things look like they'll never fruit at all because of the low temps (courgette, pumpkin, etc).

The government isn't interested in supporting small organic producers and definitely not in people living self-sufficiently. In the Republic of Ireland, I knew someone who got generous payments every week starting his own growing business and an offer of a part-time employee, but even he was burnt out after a few years and had to give it up.

Still, it's a noble enterprise to be engaged with (and definitely essential to grow your own in the coming years...valuable knowledge gained anyway!) and I hope you find something that works for you!