Swapping scissors for shears

Zoë Colville, AKA The Chief Shepherdess, has climbed to farming Instagram stardom after swapping her successful career as a hairdresser in London to rear sheep with her partner, Kriss, in Kent.

With her debut book, Lessons in Life, Love and Farming, out now, Zoë was interviewed by Becca and Lizzie. Zoë touches on how she went about writing a book alongside the demands of being a livestock farmer, all the while continuing to showcase to the public what really goes into producing our food.

The book will have you crying and laughing on the same page, combining the honesty followers have come to expect from Zoë’s social media with a raw emotion which comes from the diaries and notes she has written throughout her life. 

When asked about teasers for the book, Zoe said “The fact that it’s in there is a miracle because, as I say, I took it out quite a few times”

So why is it important to help the public learn about farming? Well, Zoë herself was a vegetarian before turning to farming. One of the reasons for this was her perception about the rearing of animals and the traceability and quality of meat. Zoë said “With the meat thing, when I moved out of my mum and dad’s and moved to London, I cut out meat completely because I couldn’t afford high welfare meat… I don’t know why but I associated cheap meat with food poisoning.” But, being able to see the life of a sheep from birth to butcher was a real eye-opener for her, encouraging her to be proud of the food she was producing and eat it for herself. 

You can listen to Becca and Lizzie’s chat with Zoë on all the usual podcast streaming platforms, brought to you with the support of A Plan Rural Insurance.