SHEEP, GOATS & PIGS, DEVON: Adam’s passion is rare and native livestock breeds, and his 26-acre (10.5-hectare) agro-ecological mixed smallholding in Devon is home to the UK’s rarest recognised breed of goat – Old English. He owns 20 of the 250 shaggy-coated goats estimated to exist worldwide. In addition to his pedigree goats, Adam has 30 Whitefaced Woodland ewes (female sheep) and two Middle White breeding sows (female pigs). He sells the meat direct to the public through the farm’s website.

From a non-farming background, Adam trained in IT. Today he combines his two passions by running an innovative small software business alongside his smallholding. This specialises in pedigree breeding data and genetic diversity. By providing pedigree livestock breeders with data and tools, Adam helps them make better breeding decisions. He says the two businesses go well together, with the IT business future-proofing the farming one.

Adam’s fascination with livestock, particularly native breeds, began while he was studying software engineering at Aberystwyth University. As part of his course, he did a work placement in Brecon, where he met a sheep farmer. “I became obsessed with helping on their Welsh hill farm, and spent all my free time there – learning about Young Farmers, the land, sheep and horses. As soon as I’d started my professional IT career in 2005, I found some land to rent and purchased a small flock of sheep, including some rare-breed ones. After a few years it became clear that buying land was going to be difficult, so I spent a decade doing hard-core IT work to save enough to buy my smallholding.”

Adam bought his first Old English goats in 2017, to provide him and his family with milk and cheese. “The Old English were hardy and perfectly adapted to the British climate, so they seemed the ideal choice of breed,” says Adam. “They are light milkers so can live off the land and don’t need extra feed as heavy milkers do.”

Adam’s choice of breeds and the way he rears them fit well with his sustainable and ‘regenerative’ approach. His animals are mob grazed, which means they are moved on to new pasture every few days. Consequently the grass is not grazed to the ground, which means diseases such as liverfluke do not infect the animals. “As a result, our animals are more resilient and we don’t need to give them preventative antibiotics or wormers.” The only disease that still presents a major challenge – to the sheep – is flystrike, whereby flies lay eggs in the animal’s coat, which then hatch into maggots which feed on the flesh of their host. Adam is currently treating his animals with neem oil, which is less noxious than organophosphates.

It’s the connection with nature and the natural world that draws Adam to farming. “What other profession allows that?” he says. “It’s certainly a far cry from IT.” Another thing that appeals is the fact that he’s producing “quality, nutritious, and sustainable” food. “It’s a fantastic primary purpose!”

On the downside, Adam admits that farming can sometimes feel like a thankless task in the face of initiatives such as carbon trading, which he believes often amounts to greenwashing.