Meet the Farmers
Our wool starts with the farmers who care for their sheep on Dartmoor and across the South West. Here are some of the people behind the wool.
Jess & Russ Steer, Rushlade Farm
Rushlade Farm sits on the edge of the Dartmoor National Park. Home to Russ and Jess Steer and their children, the farm produces amazing wool fibre which they sell on their website and also through outlets like the Dartmoor Wool Loft.
They have raw fibre, yarn, sheepskins and knitted items all made from 100% British wool direct from their farm. Their yarn is available in Merino, Dartmoor Merino and Masham bases with raw fibre available in a wide range of breeds including Merino, Dartmoor Merino, Teeswater, Masham, Whiteface Dartmoor and Dalesbred.
They started The Rushlade Wool Company in January 2017 as a diversification of their farming and a way to give our wonderful wool a better purpose. Jess and her husband Russ both grew up on Devon farms and absolutely love continuing this with their children.
They started out supplying local spinners with raw wool and now offer a range of Raw wool, Yarns, garments and textiles all from our own wool.
The family carefully sort all of their wool on the farm, spin the yarn just over the border in Cornwall and process their sheepskins just a few miles down the road in the oldest tannery in the country. They produce all of their felted rugs in-house and their hand knitted items are knitted on the farm or by Jess' Grandma.
At Rushlade farm they aim to reduce the use of any brought in inputs and encourage the land and the animals to work in synergy.
Peter Hunt
Peter's passion for sheep began when he went to Australia in 1972 and started work on a sheep farm. During this time he became really interested in sheep and wool; wool especially interested him because of its texture (both off and on the sheep) and its versatility. Peter also became fascinated at the important role wool has played in our social and economic history throughout the ages.
After many years, Peter was fortunate enough to rent a small piece of rough grazing on the edge of Dartmoor and the first breed he kept and continues to keep are Jacobs. He chose this breed as they mostly produce and rear twins and need little extra feeding, apart from in the run up to lambing. His original Jacobs came from the Knowlton flock belonging to John and Anna Milner (they bred for wool and confirmation.) They were both hugely supportive of his venture.
It is Peter's enduring belief that good quality wool has value. He has entered wool on the hoof and fleece in competitions at agricultural shows where these classes are judged by the British Wool Board, and over time he has learnt many finer points on wool quality that has had an impact on the sheep he breeds from.
Recently, Peter purchased some Shetland sheep from the award winning South Ham flock belonging to Roger and Dodie Huxter. He is now cross breeding the Jacobs with the Shetlands and believes they complement each other in many ways. Their meat is second to none and their wool is much sought after, particularly by hand spinners.
You can contact Peter by email: peter@beesindevon.co.uk
Kate Steed, Langabeer Farm
The home of Shepherd’s Delight, Langabeer is the kind of small traditional farmstead rarely seen today, quite unmolested by modern development or conversion. Once part of a much greater holding, it remains in quiet isolation with views across to the Moor, gifting a peaceful, if sometimes weather-beaten environment for the sheep and their shepherd. Farmed on an extensive basis without the use of agro-chemicals to encourage biodiversity of flora and fauna, the flock are raised with liberty on lush meadows. Small wood piles create deadwood habitats for insects and native trees providing nesting spots and perches for a variety of birdlife. And a little wet ground provides microhabitats for freshwater invertebrates. The patchworks of fields, hedgerows and grazing livestock are historically part of Devon’s landscape and ecology.
Kate says she is an unashamed sheep addict and has been taking care of her flock for more than two decades. With no sheep farming background, it was steep learning curve at the beginning but Kate says it has been an amazing and fulfilling journey with some tears and plenty of laughter. Sheep are wonderful creatures to care for and they keep her on her toes on a daily basis. They are inventive, funny and naughty and can be certainly be a challenge at times. But the pleasure of lambing and watching them grow into strapping youngsters and onto adulthood is really rewarding.
Kate now keeps Bluefaced Leicester (BFL), a mixture of white and coloured ewes plus a few wethers who are pets and just kept for their wool and lovely temperaments. They are well fed on wholesome home-grown hay and haylage and all their feedstuffs are top quality, sourced locally from other farmers, mills or suppliers. Good stockmanship is the key to animal welfare and they thrive on a regular routine healthcare regime. The flock live outdoors for as many months as weather permits and are housed in winter, either in a strawed-up polytunnel or around the old traditional farm buildings. Most importantly they are happy sheep.
