Spring in the countryside is a celebration of life in rural Britain. Here, Emily Ashworth talks to one of industry's most well-known shepherdesses, Zoe Colville, AKA The Chief Shepherdess.
It is hard not to feel like you are immediate friends with Zoe Colville. From the outset, you are affectionately referred to as babe or darling and it is easy to see why she has racked up 42,000 followers on Instagram.
Most will know her as The Chief Shepherdess, and her no nonsense approach to social media has certainly made her relatable to both those inside the industry and out.
But that is solely why she set up the account in the first place. Zoe, 32, switched life in London as a hairdresser for farming, and The Chief Shepherdess account meant her former clients could see what she was up to.
It is currently all hands on deck at home - this year they are lambing 500 ewes at Pympes Court Farm in Kent, which is a fruit farm and the flock graze under the orchards, along with their small herd of cattle and 40 goats.
And although different, life certainly has not slowed down.
She says: "My life before was so planned because I had my hair appointments and would have to be done at certain times to get ready for the next one.
I was so close to my clients; I went through their journeys with them in the salon; through divorce; through illness. But, when I left the salon and went out the door at night, I had no stress or worry. All I had to think about was, should I get a cocktail? Should I try that new restaurant?
Farming, however, is so full on and I never have time to think about anything.
I never had that real moment of what on earth am I doing? Because it is so full on, 365 days a year.
The switch in careers was also spurred on by the passing of her father, Ian. Zoe had cared for him, and then dived feet first into her new farming venture with her partner Chris, perhaps leaving her no space to deal with the whirlwind events that had taken place in her life.
In 2021, she then found herself suffering from some mental health issues.
She says: "It made me question my choices not farming, but my was it my lifestyle?
It was rough on Chris especially.
I am on medication now that has balanced me out, and I feel like I needed that to make me realise that I would actually have been in a worse place had I still been in the lifestyle before.
When my dad died, I dealt with it really well I cared for him and I feel like I had matured.
But I think I was running on adrenaline and then everything came at once.
With farming you do not get a break or time to breathe.
I think I made the mistake of working in the salon, had two weeks off for lambing, went back to the salon, my dad went into hospital, he passed away and I went back to the salon to work my two weeks notice.
The couple have built up their business after buying in 32 in-lamb ewes right back at the start of their journey.
They also established their farm-to-fork enterprise, The Little Farm fridge, selling home reared meat.
This is something Zoe has a passion for particularly, especially seeing the whole process through from start to finish.
And given that once upon a time she was a vegetarian, to now be an advocate for high welfare field-to-plate produce is something she is hugely proud of.
She says: "I did not know anything about meat.
"There is the pride side of it; we get quite a lot of messages to say this is the best lamb we have ever tasted.
"There is no other feeling like it.
"And the thing that warms me the most out of everything is that we have some customers who are vegetarians, but because we know them and they see how we care, they feel that every once in a while, they can eat a good piece of meat.
"Chris grew up on a farm and had eggs from his chickens and his freezer was full of homegrown meat.
"He has those memories and I never had any of that, so the thought that I can drop these specific animals off and then butcher, cook and eat it is something I never thought I could do."
Farming is an all-consuming job and the trials and tribulations that come with rearing livestock still get to her.
But some sound advice from her fellow farmers at the auction mart sum it all up quite perfectly.
She says: "An old boy at the market that I am quite friendly with asked me how I was, as I had lost a calf.
"I said it was affecting me and he said, when you stop feeling upset, that is when you stop farming.
"That has always stayed with me."
And showing all sides to the industry is probably why her Instagram has done so well.
It was never planned or used as a business move, it is simply Zoe being Zoe although she says brutal, it is more that she is truthful and honest in a society where you can filter, enhance and create pretty much anything you want on social media, Zoe's openness is a breath of fresh air.
She says: "Social media on the whole is so positive - of all the industries, farming on social media, you could not hope for it to be any better.
"A higher percentage of my followers are non-farmers that is amazing that they care what I do.
"But I have found friends through Instagram, that I have met up with in real life."
She is also farming at a time when there are more women in farming than ever. In 2021, her and some key fellow female shepherdesses such as Amanda Owen and Emma Gray appeared in the Daily Mail, holding lambs and dressed in glamourous evening wear, showcasing the opportunities there are in the industry.
"I was in the Daily Mail for being a farmer that is insane," she says.
"Not long ago, it was not a viable thing to be a farmer, especially if was not in the family.
"I have a lot of friends now decided to rent land and they are absolutely smashing it. They are the role models.
"You can do it as a career and if you want to, just go for it.
"Find yourself your girl gang and surround yourself with likeminded people.
"You do not have to marry a farmer to be a farmer.
"At school you will probably get pushed down the apprenticeship route or college route, but go and get some experience and who knows what doors that will open."
This next chapter, though, sees the release of her brand-new book, The Chief Shepherdess: Lessons in Life, Love and Farming.
And you can expect the same transparency that you get from her social media. There are certainly no holds barred in Zoe's book.
She says: "I have a whole chapter in the book on slaughter and I go into detail - the publishers asked if I was sure, and I said I do not want this book to be a fairy tale of some girl going from the city to the country. It has to mean something.
"We would not have a job if the animals did not go to the slaughterhouse.
"I have written the book as in, this is what hairdresser Zoe thought happened at the abattoir, and this is what actually happens.
"I have been to the abattoir and it is really important to me that we do not fall at the last hurdle after we have looked after these animals and put our blood, sweat and tears into them."
It has been what feels like a very long process for Zoe, and after that first initial email from renowned publisher, Penguin, it was full steam ahead.
"I got an email from Penguin to ask, have you ever thought about writing a book? Nothing came of that first email, but it got me excited and I began writing loads," says Zoe.
"I wanted it really badly and it was the first time I had felt like that in a while.
"Publishing moves so slowly, and farming moves so quickly, it was hard for me to be patient.
"My first box of printed copies is still sealed in my bedroom at home. I gave my mum a copy, then she gave it to my sister to read and they gave me their feedback, but even then, it still was not real.
"And I do not know when it will hit me.
"Years of work will be read by hopefully hundreds of people, and that is wild.
"I want girls like me when I lived in London to not look out of place reading it on the tube.
"I wanted to be relatable to young girls."
Win a copy of Zoe's book
To be in with a chance of winning a copy of Zoe's new book, simply register on the Farmers Guardian website. Go to www.FGInsight.com/TheChiefShepherdess
