SHEEP, KENT: Lucie’s Lambs is a premium lamb box business. Lucie keeps a small flock of pedigree Romney sheep, from which she breeds and rears lambs solely off pasture.

Lucie grazes her sheep on her parents’ land and fields which she rents locally, and rotates the sheep around the paddocks to allow the land to rest. She minimises the use of chemicals by doing faecal egg counts (to check for presence of intestinal worms before treatment) and good management; this helps to reduce resistance to medical wormers.

Living on her parents’ smallholding, Lucie makes her own hay to supplement grazing in the winter when there’s little grass growth. She doesn’t use artificial fertiliser, just harrowing and rolling the fields every spring to keep them in good shape.

She sells the meat direct to loyal consumers both locally and nationally, and has recently expanded the flock to 22 breeding ewes to meet the growing demand.

In her efforts to be sustainable and reduce waste, Lucie has started making her own lambskin rugs and has had her wool processed in a mill and made into yarn.

Although not from an immediate farming background, many of Lucie’s extended family are involved in agriculture, and she has always been passionate about food, where it comes from, and spending time outdoors. She did some work experience aged 15 on a beef and sheep farm and loved every minute, so ended up attending the local agricultural college after leaving school.

She has since worked in a wide variety of farming roles, including in America, Ireland and New Zealand. While studying for a BSc in Applied Farm Management at the Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, she was given 10 ewe lambs for her 20th birthday and set up her current lamb business. “Writing my dissertation whilst lambing my sheep for the first time will be something I will never forget!”

As well as the sheep business, Lucie works part time as an executive assistant to supplement her income.

Farming can be lonely and difficult when things go wrong, but Lucie has a fabulous support network and loves the outdoor life, working with sheep and attending local agricultural shows.