We believe that small is beautiful.

We came to Sunnyside in the summer of 2004. We, by the way, are Doreen, David and Dominic Smith.

Sunnyside is a small farm in  Dumfriesshire, overlooking the river Nith. We never intended to farm, coming from a background in plumbing and heating, but it seemed like the right thing to do. We started off with 6 sheep bought over the internet before we had even moved in. We soon then got our first sow, Bluebell. She started our love of the Gloucester old spot. Then came cattle and soon we needed them to earn their keep, and so the butchery was born!

The whole idea was to  keep rare and unusual breeds and butcher, pack and sell them oursleves. That way we could control the quality and be able to trace our meat at every stage. All the animals had to be kept the way as nature intended, fed on grass and maintenance free. We dont want to use medicines, hormones or what ever else factory systems use.

We found we had a passion for animals, the whole reason for everything we do is the desire to work with livestock. The pigs are Gloucester old spot and Berkshire. The sheep are shetlands and some waifs and strays that i seem to gather. My beloved cattle are mainly Dexter, but you will find Angus, Ayrshire, Fresian and anything else that finds its way to us.

We are best known for our veal, something entered into with some trepidation. But i was never going to keep them in crates. I had an idea to keep dairy bulls with the suckler cows out in the fields. It took time to sort the system out but now our veal bulls roam the fields in summer and large straw pens in the winter. They eat a natural diet of grass and cereals and live for eight contented months before making our Rose veal. If we dont use them for our veal then these bulls have a very uncertain future.

We work hard on the farm and in the butchery, to make the best we can from everything we rear. We do it because it has got into our blood and the farm means the world. We are not big business and never will be.

Come and see us some day!