Sue Gotting, a stallholder at Sunday's Winchester Hampshire Farmers' Market, talks to Sophie Boxall of food group Hampshire Fare.

Sue Gotting declares that her background in nursing has helped in running Dairy Barn Farm Shop, a farm located in North Houghton, on the edge of Stockbridge, which specialises in rare and traditional breeds of meat.

Since the 1990s the farm has grown from an original four sheep, three heifers and one piglet, and Sue was encouraged by friends and relatives who were ecstatic about the flavour of the meat from her animals.

Sue was brought up on a farm and attended livestock courses at Sparsholt College but otherwise has no formal training in farming.

Her nursing knowledge, says Sue: "encompasses anatomy, caring, medicine and a power of observation to see when something is not quite right with my animals if they are unwell, and not being afraid of giving them the necessary nursing care."

A member of Hampshire Fare, Dairy Barn Farm Shop is a rich source of fresh meat, homemade pies, ready meals, cakes and puddings, as well as stocking local organic vegetables, bread, cheese and groceries. The shop's meat comes from their own animals, which have been reared non-intensively on unfertilised herb-rich pasture. Many of these animals graze local nature reserves, and this in turn helps to preserve the wildlife habitats within the local area.

Sue's aim is to offer premium quality beef, lamb and pork which has been sensitively reared and humanely slaughtered. This has paid off, with Dairy Barn Farm Shop winning numerous awards each year, including the Great Hampshire Sausage, Pie and Ready Meal Competition' with a gold for their game pie this March and Best Meat Producer' at the 2006 Hampshire Life Food & Drink Awards.

When asked what exactly her role involves at the farm, Sue laughs: "I do everything from farming, cooking, running the shop and our Hampshire farmers' market stalls, as well as taking animals to the abattoir. The variety is what I enjoy about the job," she says.

Sue employs five staff and as well as running the farm and shop, and attending Winchester and Andover Hampshire farmers' markets, Sue holds one day rare breed livestock courses at the farm. These are aimed at giving people who dream of keeping their own animals a practical insight into doing so, and during Hampshire Food Festival (June 23-July 8), Sue will be running Rare Breed pigs and piglets'.

Dairy Barn will also be inviting visitors to see behind the scenes on their free open day, June 30, with a barbecue and tastings throughout the day. Call 01264 811405 for details, or visit www.dairybarn.co.uk.

For a free Hampshire Food Festival programme, call Hampshire Fare on 01962 845435, or visit www.hampshirefare.co.uk.