The Dartmoor Shepherd
The Dartmoor Shepherd is a local, sustainable farm company located in the rural community of Chagford on the edge of Dartmoor National Park. Set up in 2016 by a young local couple – Lewis and Flora – the Dartmoor Shepherd is a great example of business graft and ingenuity … that when you want something badly enough that you’ll make it happen. Even if that’s when you have dreamt all through childhood of becoming a farmer but have no farm, no background in farming, or even any land.
The team behind The Dartmoor Shepherd rent land from (currently 16) different landlords where they keep the three traditional breeds of longwool sheep native to Devon; The Greyface Dartmoor, The Whiteface Dartmoor, and the Devon and Cornwall Longwool. Having not come into farming the traditional way they have had to approach it completely differently by diversifying including selling their high-quality ethical meat directly to the public and producing sheepskin products from their rare breed flocks. The three breeds have been living on and around Dartmoor for centuries and have adapted to endure the harsh landscape and weather conditions which result in the sheepskins that The Dartmoor Shepherd produce being hardwearing and extremely durable.
The Dartmoor Shepherd is on a mission to revive ancient breeds and is passionate about farming their flocks in an ethical and sustainable way. And this is an excellent example of local supporting local – in that The Dartmoor Shepherd sends the skins of their flock to Devonia – Britain’s oldest established sheepskin tannery in Buckfastleigh – just down the road from Chagford and still in Devon.
‘The Dartmoor Shepherd is on a mission to revive our beautiful, ancient breeds and we are passionate about farming our flocks in an ethical and regenerative way. We don’t simply want to farm sustainably. Sustainable means simply maintaining something so it can be sustained, we want to do more. We are on a mission to regenerate, which means to regrow, renew and restore wildlife and the soils on our land through the use of grazing animals and farming in a holistic way. We farm to organic principles and our sheep are 100% pasture fed, meaning we never feed any grains or imported soya, our sheep only eat what our Dartmoor fields provide. Our sheep roam the rugged hills of Dartmoor and our lambs enjoy up to double the lifespan of commercial sheep.’
To meet the team behind The Dartmoor Shepherd, book our Chagford Trails Walking Tour. Together with a local, you’ll explore local footpaths that have potentially been in existence since Chagford was a centre for trade in tin and wool, understand why so many artisans have chosen to make Chagford their base and then have time to appreciate the great local independent businesses such as The Dartmoor Shepherd that make this town so special.
