Video Diary: Extensive grazing on Holne Common

Farmer Richard Gray takes a long walk out onto the Dartmoor hills to check on his herd of Galloways. In this short film he talks about the lives his cows lead, the benefits of extensive grazing, for the cows and for the moor, and the quality of meat.

On the day this film was made, Richard walked a little further than expected to find the cows. One wears a collar, which allows Richard to check the herd’s whereabouts and their wellbeing; but the information is updated roughly every 15 minutes. A herd of cows can move a long way in 15 minutes, so our walk to find them, across these unfenced expanses of moorland, ended up being quite long!

To find out more about Richard Gray, read his personal portrait here.

To watch another video, in which Richard talks about his approach to farming in Dartmoor’s uplands, click this link.