Welcome to the world of Paul and Helena Seward - the dynamic duo of Beardon Farm. Raising the rare Dexter Breed in 100 acre woodland in the Teign Valley, their operation will defy what you’ve come to expect of beef farming. Walk in the hills of the woods and you’ll see their Dexters race up to Paul each morning at 09:30 - coats gleaming, surrounded by fields of heather and buzzing wildlife that their presence has actively rejuvenated over the last half decade. What’s more, by working in harmony with nature, Paul has almost no inputs into the process, with his cows eating the rich valley grass for feed and self medicating on wild herbs. Of most importance is the scalability of his farming method. By looking after the animal as the absolute priority, he doesn’t require the costs and inputs of industrial farming, nor the vet fees for sick cows. If you want to see a model for small-scale, profitable beef production that doesn’t cost the planet, here it is.

If these names ring a bell, it's because they are the same pioneering wizards behind Pitfield Farm's Suffolk Cross lambs that you may have already gobbled up. With the farm based on the South Devon rolling hills, it seemed only appropriate that we source the native breed of South Devon Cows. As a native breed, they are not the Godzilla sized cows that you'd find on the continent or in the US, but substitute size for flavour. Critically - and similar to the rare breed Dexters from Beardon Farm - they grow up in areas of woodland and rich pasture with a diet so varied that even Tim Spector would be envious. From there, we take his cows just 15 miles down the road to be aged for over a month to build on their naturally flavoursome meat. Just brilliant.

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