When you drive to Chesham via Chenies the sheep grazing in fields along the route will be a Chess Valley Lamb flock. Chess Valley Lamb (CVL), part of Chess Valley Livestock, was set up in 2012 by Paul Jennings with Scott Horton and wife Lynsey and moved to Raans Farm, Amersham in 2102. CVL has grown and now has around 1000 sheep grazing throughout Amersham, Chenies and Latimer.
Paul and Scott became friends as fellow fishermen and discovered they also shared a love for agriculture.
“Chess Valley Lamb started with a conversation in the pub after our fishing trip. Scott has been a farming all his life and we decided to join forces and farm sheep. Originally we sold lambs into the livestock market then when prices dropped it seemed sensible to market locally and sell direct to the customer.”
Farming lamb makes commercial sense, sheep don’t need as much water as cows and up to seven ewes and lambs can graze the same area as one cow and calf.
CVL has earned a reputation for the quality of meat
“We have 750 ewes and 100 are pedigree – North Country Mules, Charollais or a cross between the two. North Country Mules are hardy and full of energy, Charollais are big, sturdy animals. They were introduced into the UK from France in the 70s and are known for their quality meat. British lamb is not easy to come by and a lot is exported to Europe… especially Welsh Lamb which tends to comes from hill breeds which are smaller. Our butcher, who has worked in the meat industry for 45 years, says he has always been looking for the perfect lamb and only now has found it! We believe the Chess Valley plays a part in the quality too – the luscious grass keeps our sheep fit and healthy and they produce strong, lively lambs.”
Despite Brits thinking of lamb as a spring meal tradition, the meat is not at its best at this time of year
“ Spring lambs are reared from January, kept inside and fed a lot of concentrates to get ready for April” adds Paul, “June or July is the right time to enjoy it at it best.”
Rearing sheep properly takes a lot of time, energy and expertise.
“ Lambing is full on, very physical and exhausting” says Scott, “The season has started and is soon at its peak, most lambs are born in March to April and through to mid May. We are expecting 1500 lambs to be born over a six week period this year. The ewes can get confused about which lamb is theirs and I am in the fields constantly to keep a close eye on them and pair them up correctly. Last time one ewe was in trouble and the vet came out to do a Caesarian section – he made a makeshift operating table out of old pallets and the ewe and lamb were saved. Every sheep is important to us.”
Chess Valley Lamb
Chess Valley Lamb, Raans Road, Amersham, HP6 6JP
01494 724863/ 07769 656191
Lambs are sold whole (£8 a kilo) or as half (£9 a kilo) and comevacuum packed ready for freezing. Boxes can be collected from the farm or delivered within a 10 mile radius
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