In the distance, in a field among Becca Williams’ herd of farmed deer, she has spotted her first fawn of the year.

If the newborn was a calf or a lamb she would intervene to address any health needs, dipping its navel perhaps, or see to practicalities like checking its sex.

But the expert advice is to leave the mothers and their babies well alone therefore it is only at weaning that Becca first meets progeny close-up.

As farmed deer are just a few generations removed from the wild, any issues with breeding have been dealt with by natural selection, she says.

“If a deer had an issue calving in the wild she wouldn’t survive so the genetics that may have caused that difficult calving have been bred out.’’

Becca farms with her parents, Keith and Ali, in Powys, at 160ha (400 acre) Hendy Farm, near Hundred House.

The three work well as a team, each having their own strengths and responsibilities.

For Becca, it is the deer that has given her a chance to make her mark.

It was not long after she returned to Hendy when Waitrose launched an advertising campaign encouraging farmers to diversify into deer, to boost its supply of venison.

“Dad joked that we should consider it but the more we thought about it the more we could see it would be a good fit for the business.

“We were already supplying Waitrose with beef and lamb so it was the next step for us.’’

It meant reducing the sheep flock by 200 ewes to create a dedicated 26ha (64 acre) grazing area for the deer but with a higher value end product the economics favoured venison.

Three years on and the new enterprise is helping the Williams’ make the best use of farm and labour resources as the key production stages in the three systems complement each other.

After a great deal of research, which included visiting established commercial deer farms, they took the plunge in 2019, investing £100,000 in fencing and handling and buying 80 young hinds and two stags from UK deer farms.

These are run as two herds, with one stag to 40 hinds; the stags cost £2,000 a head compared to an average of £250 for the hind calves, but they should have a working life of 10 years.

Although fields and sheds need to be secure to contain sheep and cattle, there are much greater requirements for deer.

Fencing needs to be at least two metres high and well maintained. If a deer escapes it is unlikely that it will be seen again so there has to be absolute certainty that they won’t get out.

But for nearly every other management aspect Becca reckons deer are easier to farm than sheep or cattle.

Deer have very few health issues – they don’t suffer from foot rot, fly strike or mastitis.

The hinds calve at grass in June and July. Calves stay with their mothers until weaning at five to six months old, after the rutting season, and they are housed in a cattle shed that has been fitted with netting.

Silage is fed in troughs during housing while hinds and the stags are out-wintered on hay and fed a minimal amount of concentrates to help with management.

Youngstock are turned out to grass at the beginning of April, just before the ewes are housed for lambing.

All sales are to Dovecote Park to supply Waitrose; it means a journey time of three hours and 40 minutes to Pontefract but the deer travel well.

Deer have very few health issues – they don’t suffer from foot rot, fly strike or mastitis.

The only health interventions in the herds at Hendy are a copper bolus and worming if required, administered once a year pre-rutting, and a flukicide when the calves are weaned in December.

De-antlering is a job that is done once a year, when the velvet has finished in August or September.

Elsewhere on the farm, the sheep flock is made up of 700 crossbred ewes and 180 ewe lambs, and the cattle herd consists of 26 polled Welsh Blacks.

Becca also works off the farm, wrapping wool, and for a grounds work business, helping to lay foundations for buildings and for projects like cycle paths.

She is a very sociable person who thrives on the company of others and, as such, she is involved in many off-farm activities, including as secretary and vice-chairman of Edw Valley YFC and, with her older sister, Lauren, running the sheep section at the annual Hundred House Show.

She is also a member of the NFU Cymru First Generation Group. This has opened her eyes to the politics of farming, and she worries that governments don’t give farming and food production the gravitas they deserve.

“Farming should have a much higher priority in the work of government,’’ she reckons.