I was brought up on a mixed Devon farm, rearing cattle, sheep and making and marketing Gray’s cider. Post college I worked 18 months in a game and fine foods business in Wiltshire. Having worked on the slaughter line at M C Kelly from the age of 15 during my school and college holidays, I returned to the company as a director in 1990. I managed the company alongside the then owner Philippa Kelly, up to her retirement and then took over as MD. M C Kelly evolved from rearing and slaughtering chickens and turkeys, through to the current iteration of butchery and venison processing. Now M C Kelly supplies top quality locally sourced meats to the hospitality industry and butchers throughout the southwest of England. I have been lucky enough to be assisted throughout by a great team headed by Fred Morris. Since 1999 the company has grown and prospered and allowed other interests to develop such as The Farmer’s Dog and Farm Wilder.Elston Farm has been in the background throughout under various structures until bought from Philippa Kelly’s estate in 2017. Elston Farm is farmed using many regenerative practices and currently is involved in several sustainable farming research projects covering silvopasture, animal health and welfare, net zero, soil health, soil carbon, dung beetles and bat acoustics. Eclectic interests from experimental agriculture to spearfishing along with a wide interest in landscape change.