Clarence's of Dartmoor

Clarence's of Dartmoor is Richard Stacey's family farm at Crows Nest Farm, Sticklepath, on the northern edge of Dartmoor. His grandfather Clarence Stacey was the first generation to farm his own land after returning from the First World War, taking a tenancy near Manaton; the family has farmed around Dartmoor for four generations since, and Richard named the farm's own brand after him. Rather than the high-input, high-output model most modern farming has settled into, Clarence's works with crop rotation and mixed livestock integration, so animals that are naturally resistant to pests and disease graze pastures they didn't need chemicals to grow.

The result is soil that stores more carbon, hedgerows and woodland left to do their job, and livestock raised without the diesel, artificial fertiliser and imported feed a conventional system depends on. It also means genuinely varied grazing and a more natural diet for the animals, which the farm says shows up in flavour as much as welfare. Customers can buy direct with a clear line back to where their food came from, and the farm holds a 5-star food hygiene rating.