J udy Hancox freely admitted that farming is in the blood. "My father was a farmer, so I was brought up to it. I did try other things, I worked in London and abroad, but the love of farming was too strong, so here I am doing what I do best."

Here' is ten minutes south of Cirencester. Butts Farm and Butts Farm Shop not only share the site, but are inextricably interlinked, with meat and eggs from the farm being sold in the shop.

Judy (pictured right) runs the farm, husband and master butcher Gary the shop. The farm is much more than a working farm, it is a visitor centre attracting over 10,000 adults and children each year. Attractions on offer to young visitors include bunny cuddles, feeding the pigs, milking a goat, collecting eggs and tractor safaris.

Butts Farm's key ingredient is an eclectic mix of rare breeds, some of them close to being extinct. Cattle include Shorthorns, British Whites and Belted Galloways. British Whites can trace their origins back to Roman times and at one stage, were classed as rare by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.

The hardy Belted Galloway originates from Scotland, the distinctive white girdle around the middle comes from cross-breeding with Dutch Lakenvelder cattle in the 17th or 18th century.

Sharing the farm with the cattle are horses, goats, sheep, pigs and poultry.

It is the horses I met first on my conducted tour, Welsh mountain ponies bred and used by Judy on the pony rides that are a favourite with children. Sturdy and amiable, these horses reflect the very reason for which they were bred.

Sitting in the lee of the stables, rabbit hutches are home to some esoteric and highly attractive breeds awaiting their next cuddle.

The first barn contained a melange. Zena is the Golden Guernsey goat, Nina the donkey and there was a prize specimen, a perfect Balwen sheep.

"Balwen are Welsh mountain sheep," Judy said. "Breeding a perfect one is pretty tricky. It has to have a white face but not a white nose and white leg markings of just the right size. It should have a white tail as well, but ours lost hers in an accident!' This one, complete with dark chocolate fleece, clearly ticks all the boxes.

Crumble (pictured above) was a heifer, a Dexter/British white cross that measured a scant 21 inches high when born. Against all odds, she survived and now shares quarters with her best mate, an ageing horse.

"The most spoiled heifer on this farm," was Judy's view, but seeing this tiny creature with a most appealing face, it is easy to see why.

A group of heavily pregnant ewes was next, lambing mere days away. Judy pointed to a North Ronaldsay, (pictured above) quite the most handsome sheep I have ever seen, resplendent with a truly magnificent pair of horns. As the name signifies, this breed hails from the Scottish isle and grazed on seaweed. This was not through choice, the grass was so limited that the sheep were corralled on the beach and learned to adapt to a new diet.

Pigs are apparently the favourite animals for visitors and one plump and contented Gloucestershire Old Spot sow was suckling about ten piglets. During opening hours, the piglets are let loose around the yard, captivating their audience.

Beyond the sty, acres of pens are given over to rare single breed poultry. The eponymous Aracauna Lavender has feathers of a very delicate hue and lays blue-green eggs; the beautiful silkie has no feathers, but a light and wispy hair coat instead; Welsummers are a Dutch species, named after a village in northern Holland.

Welsummers lay wonderful dark brown eggs, so much in demand in the shop that they can scarcely lay enough to keep pace.

Other chicken breeds have names like the very rare Marsh Daisies and the Ixworths. Geese are part of the extensive stock, including Pilgrim geese, so called because they went to America with the Pilgrim Fathers and have since been reimported.

Judy's views on people's knowledge of the countryside and the food chain were almost a refrain. "Much of the population is detached from the countryside, most have never been near a farm animal. Their only sight of the food chain is a leg of lamb or a pint of milk in a shop, but the origins of the products are shrouded in mystery. At Butts we explain that the animals become stock in the shop - and visitors begin to understand the food chain.

"A new government initiative on getting children into the countryside means we're seeing an increasing number of school parties, and that's good."

The multiple award-winning farm shop is foodie heaven. The emphasis in on meat and meat products, combined with local produce.

Butts cures and oak-smokes its own bacon, makes a variety of sausages, faggots and even traditional corned beef. All the meat in the display cabinets had that mouth-watering dark red hue of top quality, well-hung provender.

To cater for the high demand, Gary additionally sources from a network of nearby breeders, including the succulent Dexter beef. Local customers are not only shoppers, but hotels and restaurants too, and Butts supplies some of the top eateries in London. Plus there is a mail-order service throughout the UK.

Gary is well-known in top chef and food writer circles and has attracted considerable media attention.

He told me: "The last year has seen a huge upswing in customers wanting to know the origins of the food they buy and they want it sourced locally. We are hard-pressed sometimes to keep up with the demand and we never advertise, it is all word of mouth."

Butts Farm Visitor Centre is open daily 10.30am-5pm, spring-autumn, call 01285 869414. Butts Farm Shop opens Tuesday-Friday, 10am-6pm, Saturdays 8.30am-noon, call 01285 862224 or visit the website: www.thebuttsfarmshop.com