If you want to see the notes from previous meetings click here.
If you have an idea for an event, please let Karen know.
Seed Swap and Social
This DASH event is only open to members.
Sometime in February
Full details to follow but in the meantime - collect your seeds to bring along and swap/share with other smallholders.
Tuesday 28th October
10am meet
Shearwell Data Visit
This DASH event is only open to members.
Shearwell Data is a family business based on Exmoor in Wheddon Cross, Minehead, Somerset.
Alongside producing visual and EID tags and readers, they also cover livestock management programmes, software and handling systems.
Following a presentation about Shearwell Data, we will be taken on a tour of the facility, around each department, including watching the robots and lasers in action.
Refreshments will be provided and the tour normally takes a couple of hours.
Due to the nature of the tour/insurance purposes no U18's allowed.
There is NO COST but please email Karen if you would like to attend so we can inform Shearwell of numbers.
Email training@devonsmallholders.co.uk
Wednesday 12th November
7pm for 7.30pm
Winter Meeting/Talk - Bulworthy Project
This DASH event is only open to members.
We have been managing woodlands for almost 20 years and live in a house we built in our own woodland, just outside Rackenford nr Tiverton.
We run a woodland consultancy business, with an emphasis on increasing biodiversity and resilience for the future. The services we provide include writing woodland management plans which are government funded for woodlands over 0.5 ha (1.25 acres). The plans include a full woodland ecological survey and comprehensively map the woodland. The plans provide a 10 year felling licence and open up grant opportunities. The Forestry Commission has recently increased the grants and options for woodlands and is currently inviting woodland owners who have new woodland management plans to apply for these grants.
We provide consultancy on new woodland planting through the Forestry Commissions England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO), this includes the design and completing the application process to gain the grants to pay for the new woodland.
We are consultants for the Woodland Trust carrying out ancient woodland assessments and designing new woodland planting through their MORE woods scheme and carry out work for Devon Wildlife Trust.
We provide environmental land management services and are currently managing various woodlands including a SSSI and 2 ancient woodlands.
We founded a charity (Devon Culm) which is working to enhance habitats on the Culm Measures, including temperate rainforest. The Charity owns a small woodland adjacent to Rackenford and Knowstone SSSI.
The talk will be about "Managing Woodland for Biodiversity".
Sunday 30th November
Scanning Demo - Sheep - Ex22, 7
This DASH event is only open to members.
This is a provisional date. Time tbc. Hosted by Karen and Ian.
If all goes to plan - and it's a big IF! - we hope to have a sheep pregnancy scanning demo. The aim would be for our scanner to give a brief talk about scanning and show and explain the images seen.
This would be followed by tea/coffee/cake and general chat.
The ram is in, some dates have been calculated and the scanner booked. However, nature - and sheep - being what they are, this could all change, be cancelled!
Numbers will be limited so please email if interested.
Wednesday 14th January
7pm for 7.30pm
Winter Meeting/Talk - My Journey with Cattle - Jorja Snook-Bevis
This DASH event is only open to members.
My name is Jorja Snook-Bevis , I’m 20 years old and am a Farmer animal vet tech for Pendobe vets. I have kept my own cattle at home for 5 years now and I have been breeding pedigree Herefords for around 2 years. I’m very excited to talk about my journey on getting where I am today, with both the good and the bad aspects.
Wednesday 11th February
7pm for 7.30pm
Winter Meeting/Talk - Two Moors Pine Marten Project
This DASH event is only open to members.
The project is helping restore pine marten populations in the southwest of England as part of a national recovery effort for this Critically Endangered species.
Last Autumn 15 pine martens were translocated to Dartmoor, with a similar translocation planned for Exmoor this Autumn 2025
The project are keen to ensure smallholders across Devon have the opportunity to learn more about:
Living alongside pine martens
How to protect the small population released
Concerns regarding protection of smallholder's livestock.
Wednesday 11th March
7pm for 7.30pm
Winter Meeting/Talk - TBC
This DASH event is only open to members.
Sunday 17th May
Orchard Farm Visit/Tour and Picnic - Mothceombe, PL8 1LB
This DASH event is only open to members.
Time tbc
Joe has kindly offered to host a DASH visit. He will take us around the farm and we can finish off with a bring your own picnic. Children welcome.
Joe and Jess run the 34 acre farm alongside their NHS roles. The farm is managed regeneratively to boost biodiversity and they run flocks of Coloured Ryeland, Poll Dorset and Dutch Spotted Sheep, producing wool and meat. Since taking over the farm in 2022, they have embarked on a long project of restoration, including wetlands and wildflower meadows. They have also planted heritage orchards and over 5,000 trees. They hold open days and welcome schools and home education groups as well as the general public, to explore the farm.