06/06/2026
Trehill is a small family farm in the nearby Tamar Valley producing traditional Hereford beef, pork and chicken. They were one of the first local suppliers when Tamar Valley Food Hubs’ began in 2013 and continue to supply us with their locally reared quality meat.
The Daw family came to Trehill Farm in 1949. They left behind the devastation of wartorn Plymouth and the Blitz and firstly moved to Tideford before settling in St Dominick. Three generations on, the farm is run by father and son Jeremy and Ed Daw with their wives Carolynn and Rebecca, the next generation being just three years old. It's very much a family business with everyone involved, a way of life and a livelihood, rearing the animals and selling their meat.
In 1954 the farm started as a market garden alongside a riding school, a beef and dairy herd. Over the decades and generations the family has had to diversify. In 2011 they stopped dairy farming after 30 years. Although not much else has changed over time.
Trehill now graze a herd of 45 Hereford cows that spend as much time outside grazing throughout the year as the weather allows. Winter is spent inside in cosy sheds so the animals get a better level of care whilst maintaining the condition of the pasture by letting it rest over the winter months.
When you walk around the land it is obvious the love they have for both their land and livestock. The sloping fields are permanent pasture, with an abundance of lush hedgerows that have been layered to encourage nature to thrive, while others are cut every other year. Some fields are divided by newly planted hedgerows, home to the cattle where they live out during the summer with their calves. High animal welfare is very much apparent. Their Herefords are not totally pasture fed, using small amounts of feed (creep feed) to handle animals.
As part of the Countryside Stewardship scheme a herbal lay is sown for silage then haylage which is rich in clover, birdsfoot and plantain. Another crop grown is wholecrop, a pea, barley and grass mix. The barley and peas are a one year crop with the grass undersown. This saves on cultivating costs and processes. This follows on with fodder beet the next year for winter feed. There is a continuous sound of birds as swallows fly overhead. Talk of birds, and it’s clear both father and son have a strong love of nature.
For them, the best time of year is the Summer, with cattle in lush green pasture and birds overhead. The time of day they look forward to the most is first thing in the morning, calves and cows in the valley, the landscape, the views, the quiet and birds overhead. “Farming is not a loss of habitat, it's a cycle, we manage the land with no potential wealth for us, it's a way of life. What people assume about farming that isn’t true, the environmental impact of the cattle and the carbon. It’s about how you farm.”
“With farming there are challenges throughout the year, with the seasons, especially by the end of winter with the weather, that's always the worst. Summer can bring its challenges as it’s a busy time. Jobs change through the seasons.”
A normal day / week divides the tasks of managing a small family farm and business. A 6.30am start tending to the cattle, then breakfast and farming jobs throughout the day. On a Wednesday and a Thursday that is balanced with butchery prep and orders. Friday is deliveries. Then it doesn't stop with the weekend.
All the meat is processed on site in their own butchery, with a shop that grew with demand in the local community during Covid. Herefords were chosen as a breed whose meat is full of flavour and tender due to the marbling of fat throughout. The meat is hung for one to two weeks, with one half prepared per week. They supply a variety of traditional cuts and joints like brisket (makes fantastic salt beef), that are often lost with supermarket meat.
Supplied to the farm are Wild Venison, fed on a natural diet of grass, fruits, berries, acorns, apples and chestnuts. A meat that is low in saturated fat and reasonably priced it is very popular with Tamar Valley Food Hubs’ customers, haunch joints, haunch or sirloin steaks, or mince for a Stalker’s Pie.
Their chickens are barn-raised and more mature with a longer life which gives a bigger bird.
The pigs are large whites bought in as weaners and reared on the farm.
As with so many farmers, TB testing and anxiety of losing stock is always a dread. Remembering back also to the Foot and Mouth challenge.
When we talk about worries for the future it is what is the future going to be ? As with everyone, they have concerns about the rising costs, those that relate to farming and keeping prices that are affordable to all, without compromising on welfare and quality. Imported meat is often produced at scale with bad animal welfare.
Trehill is a small family farm where they know each of their cows and their offspring, who the parents are and which fields they’ve grazed in. They spend their lives there and as a result the family knows every joint of meat, its history and generations.
Jeremy and Ed Daw have a love of many things, the variety of farming, love and appreciation of their animals each with their own personalities, care for their land, the annual sound of a cuckoo and the social side of all they do as part of Trehill Farm as a local business.
Shop from Tamar Valley Food Hubs alongside all our other local produce…
Photos by Hanna Collins
