Farm Life: Swannaton

Jonathan’s family farm is called ‘Swannaton.’ Loosely translated, it means pig herd. The house was built hundreds upon hundreds of years ago. He says it was built around the 900s and his mum says it was in the 15th Century. Either way, it was like taking a step back in time. The farm is even listed in the Doomsday book!

Just wait until I post the photos of the inside on facebook!

They consider themselves grassland farmers, and they have a herd of 800 ewes (with over 1500 lambs!) and about 400 beef cattle. They farm about 400 acres. Their animals are grown off the grass. They do feed some barley, etc. But the primary source of food is the grass.

When I was there, I had the chance to help out with some of the chores:

Feed and Check on the cattle/sheep: Let`s be honest, J fed the animals, I took photos. Although I did help with a few bags- I promise ;)


Foot Bath: Essentially, we had to clean something like 1200 sheep’s feet (actually, probably more). Some of them had bad feet and the water that they walked through had special medicine in it to heal them. We did this on both days that I was at the farm- the first time we had to build a pen and all the fixings, but the second time everything was already set up for us.
After the pen and trough were in place, we had to herd the sheep. Yup, I’m basically a Sheppard.

This was our `built-from-scratch`contraption. Note: J is working hard as I take photos, typical haha


Deadstock: J would say: “The thing about farming is that where there is livestock, there is also deadstock.” Sad, but true.


Cider Run: We went to pick up some cider when we were foot bathing in Winkleigh from Sam’s Cider. Folks, this isn’t like our Canadian apple cider that is mulled in crock pots across the Great White North in the winter. You see, this cider is alcoholic. And quite good! You can also get a stronger cider called Scrumpy.

Sam’s was a family business that was sold to a large company and then run to the ground. It was reopened a few years later and has been providing Devonians with strong apple goodness ever since! The woman that worked there was so sweet. She gave us samples and was so happy to just sit and chat- a true resident of Devon :)


Quad: Yup, I got to DRIVE the quad bike. The first day, J drove. The second day- he let me!! I was even complimented on my gear shifting skills! He probably had second thoughts when I almost tipped the bike though ;)

ALSO- I have a funny story for you. It is a pure Victoria moment. So here we are, J and I, herding some sheep to drench them. The dog, Jack, was slacking and some of the sheep were getting away. J was driving and I was sitting on the back of the quad bike holding on to the rack. As he put the ‘pedal to the medal’ to go up a steep hill, I was thrown off balance and my feet went over my head and I almost fell off!

I think I was too amused at myself to even be scared. It was like something out of a movie. I paid more attention and held on for dear life afterwards :)


Drenching: Just like we need flinstone vitamins, so do sheep. Lambs get ‘drenched’ every six weeks to ensure that they are getting all the necessary vitamins. It requires the Sheppard (J in this case) to get suited up in a ghost busters-esque outfit. The liquid is held in a backpack and they stick a large application tube/gun thing in the lamb’s mouth and shoot the liquid in!
We did two batches. About 1200 sheep. Me= Sheppard.

All in all, I love Swannaton. They run a smooth operation and they really are great farmers. I really enjoyed being part of their operation and seeing how they operate. Even just being able to chat with J and his parents about farming, foot and mouth, the EU`s CAP, and so much else was rewarding and informative. J taught me that a farmer`s best friend is some twine and a knife.

They really included me in the chores and made me feel like part of the family! I would love to return someday because I am sure that the operation will only grow and improve over time.

Swannaton, thank you for making me realize how much I really do love agriculture and country life