About Us

For as long as he can remember Lewis Steer always wanted to be a farmer, however, not coming from a farming background this proved a real challenge especially with no family farm to fall back on and rented land in short supply. As a reward for doing well in his GCSE's Lewis was given 3 Greyface Dartmoor ewes by his parents which he kept on their smallholding of 13 acres. Lewis pursued his dream by attaining a degree at The Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester whilst building up his flock of rare breed Dartmoor sheep back home in Devon.

Flora Searson grew up in the heart of Dartmoor in Chagford and developed a flare for media during secondary school which she pursued by attaining a degree in Creative Media Practice at Bath Spa University. Whilst studying, Flora made frequent trips home to Dartmoor where she slowly began to learn the ancient profession of shepherding by helping Lewis with his expanding flocks. Having met in a small café in Chagford aged 16 and then attending different Universities, Lewis and Flora were keen to return home together on the completion of their degrees to create a local, sustainable and high quality farm company, and so The Dartmoor Shepherd came into being.

As their flocks expanded they needed to start renting more land around Dartmoor. Having not come into farming the traditional way they have had to approach it completely differently by diversifying. Instead of selling their lamb to a market they sell direct to the public. They are passionate about local, ethical food and want to connect people with the origin of their food and fibres again, by allowing them to buy direct from the shepherd.

They began using the unique sheepskin rugs from their rare breed flocks (a bi-product of their hogget and mutton) to make into products, which they now sell online, at shows and events across the country. In August 2020 they opened their first shop in the Dartmoor town of Chagford where their sheep graze. In 2021 they completed the building works for their Workshop and Woolshed on some of their rented land in Chagford thanks to very supportive landlords. The team has now grown to 7 people who help on the farm, work in the shop and stitch the products.