About the two flocks

My name is Patrick Goldsworthy and I have been breeding Southdown Sheep for over 15 fifteen years now.  A not so brief biog: I come from a farming family, a grandfather and two uncles farmed in Kent, and a great grandfather was an MP, soldier and landowner and rather than farmer. My late father started off as a pilot (always his first love) but following a health related incident when he was in his forties, he was no longer able to fly. So he/we pratted around on 20 acres in Kent with calves, a Guernsey house cow, Jacob sheep and Rhode Islands finally  deciding in the late 70's to relocate to 145 acres on the edge of Dartmoor.

From about fifteen I had wanted to farm, so having completed my A levels in 1977, I  did a pre-college year on a mixed dairy farm in Kent and then an HND in Ag at Seale Hayne where amongst other things I ended up as SU President. After finishing at college I returned home but fathers and sons don't always get on especially as I had had three years training while my father  who would say with pride (and my chagrin) had had three days at Aylesbury. So after about a year at home, where I also did  some weight recording work for the MLC, I decided to upgrade my HND to an honours degree in Crop Production Science via the Institute of Biology at Auchincruive  (The West of Scotland Agricultural College). 

After getting a 2.1, I was picked up by ICI Fertiliser on the milk round and joining them as a Technical Sales Rep in SW Lancashire. After three years in the field I moved to ICI's amenity business based in Farnham for another  3.5 years. Then in one of those "re-organisations", my role disappeared so I was seconded to and then joined the British Agrochemicals Association, now Croplife UK. I had many different roles there but probably my chief claim to fame was leading the fight against the threat of a pesticide tax and then in 2001 helping to establish The Voluntary Initiative (VI) which I managed for 15 years.  In 2006 I set up my own consultancy and in 2007 I was lucky enough to be awarded the MBE for my work on the VI. I still work as consultant, part time these days, mainly doing training  see: www.goldsworthyassociates.com