ABOUT US

Sitting close to the River Exe Estuary in East Devon, Harefield Farms is a family-run, mixed livestock farm, focussed on producing grass-fed, outdoor-reared meat. Sheep make up the majority of the livestock reared at Thorne Farm and our flock is made up of British breeds including Welsh Lleyn, Dorset Horn and Jacob sheep. Saddleback pigs and Hereford cattle make up the rest of our livestock.

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Having relocated to the Devon countryside in 2012, the Ball family started their farming journey with just 20 Jacob ewes and a friendly pet wether named Barty. Nearly 10 years later, Barty is still our trusty lead sheep, but our farm and knowledge has grown and we are now lambing over 400 ewes from January to April each year and have had our first calves born on the farm in the Summer of 2021.

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Harefield Farms is comprised of several working farms whose history dates back to the 17th Century. The main flock is run out of Thorne Farm, which sits within historic parkland and is made up of a 17th-century farmhouse, an orchard and the main farmyard, including the old dairy. Originally a dairy farm, sheep were introduced to the park to help improve the pasture and, over the last 5 years, our flock has grown to 400 breeding ewes. All of our lambs are grass-fed throughout the year, and our flock is grazed across 200 acres of permanent pasture, including herbal leys.

The meat from our spring lambs is available to purchase - please see the Harefield Hogget page for more information and how to order.

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We are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the Devon countryside and we are happy that we now have the opportunity to share this experience with others through our holiday accommodation. We offer a fully equipped, self-contained annex for two people at Thorne Farm that is great for a weekend getaway or a longer break. Please see the 'Holiday Accomodation' page for more information and how to book.