Tucked away in the heart of rural Devon is Taw River Dairy, owned and run by Sam and Gemma, passionate young farmers with a love for animals & the countryside, and a passion for natural farming that produces top quality dairy.
Meet The Team
Sam comes from a farming background and has worked hard within the agricultural sector since a young age. Meeting Gemma and instantly connecting over a shared love for natural farming and taking care of our environment has led us to where we are today. The land base and livestock at Taw River Dairy have been built up over the years, after starting with nothing we feel this is quite an achievement.
We are a small, local team with a combined interest in farming sustainably and as naturally as possible, allowing all our cows to rear their own calves is fundamental to our holistic beliefs. Although this is not a modern farming method it does take us back to basics, back to our roots and back to the ways our grandparents kept dairy cows. After all Sam’s Grandfather provided milk in a very similar way for the local area more than 60 years ago so it is in our heritage to do the same. Our dream is to share this with you and provide you with our ethical premium products.
Life On The Farm
Our eco-friendly farm is home to over 80 Jersey’s both pure-bred and crossed with other native dairy breeds. We believe that happy cows produce happy milk, and we think that because our cows are grazing as many days as possible and all rear their own calves then they must be among the happiest cows in the country. Here at Taw River Dairy we also have 2 small flocks of native breed sheep who often cohabitate with our cows. Our sheep aid our grazing management by increasing pasture health, helping maintain the species rich meadows that our cows love so much.
Due to our natural system the cows are only milked once a day, and we only take the milk remaining once the calves have had their breakfast! This delicious raw milk is then taken to our on-site processing room, here it is turned into the delicious products that are available to you.
Our Eco-Friendly Values
Taw River Dairy has always been about caring for our environment, wherever possible we use sustainable options, from re-usable glass bottles to compostable ice cream spoons.
All our land and animals are farmed organically and we have our own bee hives, our bees are important in the pollination of our herbal and grass leys.
Our cows are 100% pasture fed, this is not only the best option for our cows but also for the environment. Low food miles and reduced carbon emissions are just a couple of the benefits of not buying in feed for the farm, as most concentrated feeds are often made up of cereals imported from all over the world.
