About Us
Our farming life is a newly established business set up in 2020 by first generation farmers Craig and Annie Rowe in the picturesque county of Wiltshire. Craig has a wealth of Farming experience, having worked on many farms in the area from the age of sixteen.
Annie took a slightly different route; going to college and then university and securing a degree in Equine Science. They met, as many do in the local pub in 2013, their relationship blossomed and they married in May 2019, shortly followed by their first born Son Reuben.
Annie, having been introduced to the life of Farming, realised her love of sheep and during the lockdown of 2020 raised 24 cade lambs (with a lot of guidance and support from Craig). Those 24 cade lamb soon turned into a flock, with sheep purchases made on a monthly basis. In the blink of an eye they had become fully fledged sheep Farmers, along with their well established bee hives – that were previously only a hobby.
They are passionate and dedicated about what they do and they endeavour to reconnect customers with sustainably, locally produced lamb and honey.
Sheep
Craig and Annie have their our own flock of breeding ewes, prominently Suffolk and Texel mule crosses. Along with Roger, their resident Suffolk cross Hampshire Down Ram. To ensure the healthiest of sheep all are regularly wormed and vaccinated, any antibiotic use is done on a case by case basis and only when absolutely necessary, with the welfare of the animal at the forefront of the decision. Any replacement ewes that are not home grown are quarantine for a minimum of 4 weeks before introduction in the the flock.
Their Lamb is predominantly pasture fed, home grown and harvested seasonally when the animal is in it prime. The lambs are raised to the highest of welfare standards, with each one being free to graze in the comfort of their natural environment, wide open pastures. The pastures are a mixture of ryegrass, clover and legumes that the sheep and Lambs graze on freely, regularly rotational grazed to promote grassland regeneration and to ensure our animals get the very best from the grasses available. Their diet is supplemented with wholesome grains, that are locally sourced with absolutely no hormones or Animal by-products.
Bees
Craig and Annie’s Bee hives are located in the fields surrounding the picturesque village of Shalbourne, Wiltshire; regularly check and maintained throughout the year. The honey that the bees produce is raw, untreated, unpasteurised and filtered straight into tubs and then decanted into glass jars. Consuming local raw honey is believed to help with seasonal allergies, due to repeated exposure to the pollen in the area along with other health benefits.
The hives that the bees are kept in are hand made from recycled wood, specifically designed to keep them safe a warm during the cold winter months, and then cool during the warmer summer months. Each bee hive is placed to give the bees the very best opportunity to forage an abundance of different crops and wild flowers in the local area. As a direct result flavours will vary depending upon the time of year and crop and flower varieties that the bees have collected from.