Located on wild and rugged Exmoor is this 1,500 acre farm, made up of indigenous moorland and steep valleys. One thousand three hundred feet above sea level and surrounded by open moorland, it is amongst one of the highest estates in the South West - a breath of fresh air here is in plentiful supply!
The farm is home to around a hundred native Devon cattle and their offspring. The Devon Red Ruby is one of the many essential threads woven through this rural landscape. As the local breed, and as such, is ideally suited to life on the moor. Evolving over generations on this unforgiving landscape, the cattle are ideally suited to the hilly conditions, producing some of the finest beef in the country where there is very little resource.
The cattle eat rough moorland grasses, reared in harmony with nature, using low input system. Our slow-growing native cattle are helping to sustain beautiful, natural, grassland landscapes, which are not suitable for growing other food crops and have limited options for other rural enterprises.
The farm is carefully managed by Ricky, who has the busy task of juggling a grazing plan for his 100 native cattle, calving, as well as looking after a flock of native Exmoor Horn sheep. Over the last few years the estate has been on a mission to reestablish many native tree species, planting thousands of trees and maintaining acres of hedgerows. They have also been slowly converting the farm and its accommodation to renewable hydroelectric power. Ricky has been part of the Pipers Farm tapestry of farmers for over 7 years.
