Smallholder Rowan Simms has added rare breed Wensleydale sheep to her heritage pig herd of Large Blacks and Saddlebacks

Rowan started her heritage, native breed pigs in 2017 at Waterfall Farm in the village of Ellingstring between Masham and Leyburn.

Three years on it is the pigs that still take centre stage with Large Blacks and Saddlebacks, but they have been joined by Wensleydale sheep alongside a more commercial-minded Texel flock and eight goats.

It’s an ever-changing livestock picture as Rowan continues to explore what will work best in the coming years, while maintaining her first love and commitment to rare, heritage breeds.

“I’ve found that there are lots of people who are interested in keeping a few pigs, sheep and goats and I’ve developed a training side to the farm. I show people how pigs farrow, how to look after dairy goats, make cheese and how to lamb.

“There’s a great interest and it’s something that larger scale farmers might not be interested in doing because of what they have on already, but for me it works.

“There has been a huge rise in the number of people looking to grow their own food and wanting to try raising their own pigs and we have been selling weaners from our growing sow herd that was already supplying pigs to the restaurant and butchery markets.

“The interest has grown even more in the past three months since lockdown judging by the number of visitors to our website and social media pages. There is now a very real appreciation of sustainability and self-sufficiency.”

Rare breeds and training are just two of what Rowan sees as four planks that will hopefully see the farm thrive in future. The other two being education and butchery. They are all now under the banner of Maythorn Fayre.

“Since joining the Ladies in Pigs (LIPS) organisation I have learned so much more about the pig industry, rather than just having knowledge of my own niche market pigs. This has really helped me.

“I have been fascinated to learn about the much larger scale commercial pig herds with big sow units and fattening pig farms with thousands on site. And it is great that I am now able to not just be a part of the LIPS operation but also contribute too. I’ve dressed up as a pig mascot, seen the team in action in the Food Hall at the Great Yorkshire Show, which gave me an appreciation of the work these ladies do, and I’ve recently been invited to become part of the education team.

“Engaging with the public about pigs, the pig industry and how to cook pork and all other pig produce is very important and also quite fulfilling. I also now conduct educational workshops at such as Springtime Live, at last year’s event where I took some of the animals with me.

“The butchery side was to be my next big thing this year, but that’s now slightly on hold while we are going through lockdown restrictions.

“I wanted to up my game and learn new skills and I was fortunate to receive a grant from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and spent a week at the School of Artisan Food on the Wellbeck Estate in Nottinghamshire where I received training from two master butchers, Chris Morby and Rich Summers.”

Rowan has been active in the maintenance and continuation of the Large Black pig breed for a number of years, but last year saw a move toward more Saddlebacks.

“Last year our focus was more towards the Saddleback and currently of our 14 sows twelve are Saddleback with just two Large Blacks.

“We are planning on increasing the Large Black numbers shortly with the incorporation of new gilts from East Sussex and Cornwall.

“We need to increase our pig herd, as our butchery trade is on the increase and we now have sows farrowing at between four to six- week intervals throughout the year to meet the demand.

“We work with the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. I have a great interest in maintaining the historic bloodlines of rare breeds.

“We are now also working closely with Swinton Park Estate, where I have worked over the years in various capacities either with ponies, horses or sheep since I was in my teens. We are supplying pork that their chefs are keen to incorporate with game from the estate.”

In addition to Rowan’s varied activities on the educational and training front she also enjoys showing her Large Blacks at agricultural shows during the summer.

“It doesn’t look likely there will be any to attend this year and we only managed one last year when we attended Westmorland County Show.

“We all got mightily soaked as it was a dreadful day weather-wise, but my children, William and Pippa, still had massive grins on their faces despite their white coats drenched in rain and splattered with mud. I really find shows a lot of fun and, particularly amongst the pig showing community, the older generation is really encouraging to the younger ones.”

When Rowan was deciding on a rare breed of sheep for Waterfall Farm she went for the Wensleydale.

“I wanted a breed that would suit our area of Yorkshire. I’d had ideas of either Masham, Teeswater or Wensleydale. I went to the annual Wensleydale Show and Sale at Skipton livestock market and that did it for me.

“They are fabulous sheep. At the moment I just have half a dozen, but what has really surprised me has been the wool, which is a lot more valuable than I’d thought.

“I had a contact from a lady in Leyburn who offered me £60 for a fleece and I now know some have been exported to Canada for over £100.”

One of the latest skills Rowan has recently added to her growing craft repertoire on her Maythorn Fayre training courses, since having the Wensleydales is needle felting.