In an ideal world all animals bred for human consumption should live in a similar environment as those lucky enough to be reared at Sheepdrove Organic Farm, near Lambourne — unfortunately, most don’t. Sheepdrove came into being more than 30 years ago when publishers and environmental campaigners Peter and Juliet Kindersley purchased a dilapidated farmhouse on the top of the windswept Berkshire Downs.

Their aim was to practise self-sufficiency, and so protect themselves from the polluting chemicals used by farmers in the area. They also planned to recreate the original downland landscape they loved so much. Both aims have been realised as visitors to the farm can see immediately they begin the drive through the winding tracks that lead to the farm’s centre. The stunning views of clover- rich meadows lined with banks of berry bearing trees and shrubs where the livestock happily forage say everything.

It’s all very beautiful. Regardless of which way you look, you see evidence of Peter and Juliet’s quest to make their farm at one with the natural cycle of fertility, without the use of chemicals. Sheepdrove is now one of Britain’s largest and most influential organic farms and has become a model of environmentally responsible farming.

I was there to see the chickens, guinea fowl and turkeys, but was so impressed with all I encountered during my visit that I make no apology for discussing the beef, lamb and mutton that’s raised on this amazing 2,250-acre farm.

Because there’s so much that can be said about Sheepdrove, I’ll start with the land on which the animals graze, as this is where it all begins. Get the pastures right and everything else follows. As Peter explains: "The plants come from the soil, animals eat the plants and we eat the plants and the animals. It’s a naturally self-sustaining cycle that we interfere with at our peril."

He’s convinced that where industrial farming exhausts the soil, organic farming delivers healthy soil in which to grow healthy plants, raising healthy animals producing healthy food.

When this farm was intensively farmed in the 1970s, the beautiful chalkland and meadows were ploughed up and destroyed. These meadows have now been restored and are used as pasture and hay meadows, with cutting regimes that are carefully timed to ensure maximum shelter for wildlife. Now the farm abounds with butterflies and insects, as well as hares, badgers and birds which have returned to make it their habitat. Newts, beetles, pond skaters, damselflies and the common frog are drawn to the circular dew ponds that have been recreated around the farm. Research shows that compared to a non-organic farm, farms such as this also attract 44 per cent more birds in their fields and 25 per cent more birds at field margins.

The meadows on which the livestock grazes have been enriched too, and not just with clover but with the many herbs that animals in the wild would use to self-medicate and which are not usually available to farm animals. These include salad burnet, sheep’s parsley, yarrow, vetches, plantains, wild carrot and bird'sfoot trefoil, which is rich in tannin and so acts as a natural guard against bloat.

But it’s not just about giving the animals healthy food. They need an environment in which they act naturally, too. Respecting the natural behavioural patterns of animals reared on the farm is of paramount importance to the Kingdersleys, which is why they have placed wooden rubbing posts in the fields where cattle and sheep graze if there are no gnarled trees on which they can rub their backs. They are erected in a pyramid-type structure. As Peter says, if you have no arms to scratch yourself with, what do you do?

Pigs, which love to play, are able to pull at the metal chains tied to the roof of their shade centres in their field to provide shelter from the sun. They pull and play with the chains as if they are children. It’s a great sight to watch.

During my trip around the farm, everything suddenly came to a halt as we attempted to take a well-worn lane on which the shepherd and his dogs were moving the sheep to new pastures just behind us.

Having parked our vehicle on the verge we watched and waited as several hundred sheep began their leisurely journey towards us, followed by the shepherd and his three sheep dogs. The sheep gave us a cursory glance and then happily trotted on up the path and into their new field. It was one of many magic moments I experienced during my visit to Sheepdrove.

They are Downland sheep, bred from a hardy cross of Shetland and Poll Dorset ewes. The sheep are kept in family groups as they would be in the wild, which reduces stress and promotes good health. As you can see from the photograph, they are in excellent condition, so were the free-ranging chickens which arrive at Sheepdrove as day-old chicks and brood in warm sheds fitted out with special perches and little conservatories so that they can sunbathe and see the outside world. To prepare them for the day they are put out into a meadow, a special hi-fi system playing sounds of the countryside, cows, tractors, birds and even the buzz of a passing aircraft, helps them adapt to the outside world.

Shelter belts of fruiting trees and shrubs have been planted for the chickens to encourage them to range and scratch about in the dust as they would in their natural forest floor habitat.

Sheepdrove organic meat can be purchased in meat boxes. There are no delivery charges for orders with OX1 postcodes through to OX4, OX10-OX14, OX44. For more information on Sheepdrove go to www.sheepdrove.com