In the bucolic surrounds of the Cotswolds, laced with neatly trimmed hedges, attractive limestone houses and miles of narrow country lanes, lies Daylesford Organic, the organic farm and farm shop. 

Since its establishment over twenty-four years ago, Daylesford Organic has been a renowned destination to shop, eat, stay, learn and restore, where you can enjoy exploring their farm shop, selling outstanding produce from the farm and beyond, to their events such as floristry and gardening workshops and larger events like hosting the International Sheepdog Trial.

As founder, Carole Bamford, says, “Everything we do is rooted in a simple belief: to nourish our land, nurture our wellbeing and inspire a more conscious way of living.” As you walk around Daylesford Organic, it doesn’t take long to spot our Le Chameau boots, whether it’s customers wearing our new Chelsea Nomade boots or classic Vierzon style or Daylesford’s team members wearing our Chasseur or Vierzonord boots. 

On the eve of the International Sheep Dog Society Supreme Championship that is being held at Daylesford Estate on 11– 13 September, we meet one particular man and his dog – Farms Director Richard Smith and sheepdog, Glen – working a section of the farm, herding in a small flock of sheep onto new pastures. As we walk the Cotswolds countryside with Richard and Glen rounding the sheep in front, we hear more about the Championship and what jobs are happening on the farm this season. 

Richard wears his trusty leather-lined Chasseur boots.

“My role here at Daylesford Organic is essentially to have overall responsibility for the farming operations here to everything that goes into producing high-quality produce that's then retailed through our brand.” Richard says. 

Daylesford is an organic mixed farm, focusing on managing ruminant animals, milk, arable and market garden production. Richard adds, “We work on a truly diverse farming system with emphasis on care for the soil, improving soil health and animal welfare. Soil health is the essence of everything. If you're going to be successful at organic farming, you need to build the level of nutrients in the soil naturally as opposed to adding them artificially with nitrogen and compounds brought onto the farm.” 

Richard notes that sustainability and diverse farming systems are the two main driving forces behind the farming at Daylesford, where you have a range of enterprises introducing nutrients at different levels. For instance, the farm would produce around 5,000 tons of manure, which is all carefully composted and then reintroduced to the soil to add natural nutrients, fibre and organic matter.

Daylesford Hosts the Sheep Dog Championship

Let's talk about the International Sheep Dog Society Supreme Championship. This is an event coming to Daylesford Estate during 11-13 September to celebrate the finest sheepdogs and their handlers from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Competitors will be looking to win the coveted International Sheep Dog Society Supreme Champion title. It will be a truly memorable experience for the whole family, set in the heart of the Cotswolds.

“Sheepdog trialling has been something that I have been really interested in for the last 45 years.” Richard tells us. “As a teenager, I managed to obtain my first pup and little did I know she was a very keen little dog called Jen, I loved her to bits. I went on to train her not extremely well, but she was very obedient. Then over the years, I've trained many sheep dogs. 

“I remember as a young boy being taken to the International Championship on various occasions and looking at these top handlers and thinking, wow, I wonder what it takes to get to that level! And now lo and behold, all these years later, I'm the English Vice President of the International Sheepdog Society.”

Richard says that what you can expect to see at the International Championship is the “very best of the best”. Before the International event, each country will hold its national event. Each nation - England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland - will have 150 dogs qualify to go to their national, and then the top 15 from each nation will go through to the International.

At the International Championship here in September, there will be two days of qualification, including the brace championships – two dogs at the same time will compete. There are also four young handlers, a young person from each nation that comes and represents their country. In total, there are 60 single dog qualifying runs over the first two days, with a single dog handler being crowned Supreme Champion on the Sunday. Throughout the competition, Richard notes, “we’ll see awe-inspiring demonstrations of what the collie dog can do”. 

Style and Stamina: The Working Border Collie

If you looked at a border collie that was being shown at Crufts – it's so many inches, white tail, white collar, broken coat, ears are carried in a certain way to meet all the criteria – it will be a show dog. Working border collies are quite different. They come in all different shapes and sizes. Black, white, red, brown, yellow, mottle, blue merle, chocolate, red, all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, smooth coated, medium coated, broken coated. Richard notes, “What the shepherd or the farmer is looking for is stamina, brain and style; natural ability. A good collie dog will show enough eye to intimidate the sheep, but not too much to be sticky, so that he gets stuck, but enough free moving eyes; super class, stylish dogs. The collie dogs at the International Championship at Daylesford this September will be of super, super standard.” 

Farming in a Drought: Knock-On Effects

As we heard from Huw Foulkes at Pentrefelin in Wales, this year has been a particularly tough one for farmers especially with the immense heat of the summer. Richard explains how they have coped with the extreme weather conditions at Daylesford Organic. “In a normal English summer, we'd be looking for some nice sunny days to get on with harvest, but I have to say, I'm fed up with the sunshine at this time of the year. We've actually finished harvest over three and a half weeks ago, which is a record first, and that's pretty much the same for farmers all over the UK this year. 

There are thousands of similar stories from across the UK where farmers have had to adapt to the drought and lack of rainfall. It’s troubling times now for farmers and the health of the land, but it’s the knock-on effects that Richard is worried about.

“We also had a very dry summer in 2025, which was, in a way, worse, because the spring was very dry and the summer, which meant that forage stocks – hay, silage and crops that you'd normally conserve for the winter – were in very low supply. This year, the drought came slightly later. We had a fantastic spring. We had huge amounts of forage that were able to conserve, mow and take as hay or silage. So, the barns are full and I’m not so worried from that aspect.

However, whilst this dry weather continues, as we wean all of our lambs from their mothers in the month of August, you really want to pick the ewes back up into really good condition before they visit the rams again back in the autumn. So, it creates a knock-on effect. It's not now, it's not today. We're actually feeding huge amounts of forage every day to our cattle and sheep on the farm right now, which is really unusual. Of course, you're eating into winter forage stocks. We will see this summer’s drought effecting the months to come and even next year.”

Join us at the International Sheep Dog Championship, an exciting event coming to Daylesford Estate 11-13 September, championing the finest sheepdogs and their handlers. Bring the whole family and find our celebrated Le Chameau experience on the grounds of Daylesford, meet the team and have a bespoke measurement session where you can try on our entire range of handcrafted boots.