A BELIEF in the quality of their food produce has led more than 30 Dartmoor farmers to form an association to champion the sale of the moor's quality beef and lamb.

The Dartmoor Farmers' Association, formed more than two years ago, has already earned the backing of one of Dartmoor's more celebrated landowners, the Prince of Wales.

Steve Hutson, business adviser to Dartmoor Farmers, said: 'His Royal Highness endorses the environmentally sustainable rearing of native livestock breeds, and it is hoped the initiative will assist in maintaining Dartmoor's superb landscape, whilst providing a viable future for the next generations of Dartmoor farmers.'

The DFA is supported by the Duchy of Cornwall and funding through Devon Renaissance. Other key partners include Food and Drink Devon; Taste of the West, EBLEX, the the Dartmoor Partnership and the Dartmoor National Park Authority .

The association has created a website, http://www.dartmoorfarmers.co.uk">www.dartmoorfarmers.co.uk, to promote its produce and hopes it will lead to greater demand, both locally and nationally. It has also invested in a promotional DVD made by Chris Chapman and Kate King.

The DFA claims the superior texture and flavour of the meat is a result of the grass-fed, extensively reared farming process on the moor compared with intensively reared animals fed on grain, where the emphasis is on maximising the rate of weight gain in animals that subsequently sacrifices meat quality, flavour and nutritional values.

To celebrate the new brand, a selection of native breed Dartmoor beef and lamb meat boxes, in time for Christmas, are now available through the association's website.

The farmers said the meat box scheme will also sustain the local tourism industry, which benefits from the role livestock farming has in producing the moor's landscapes.

Phil Coaker, a fifth generation Dartmoor farmer and chairman of the DFA, said: 'More than 5,000 years of settled agriculture have created Dartmoor's unique upland landscape and environment that so many now enjoy. Indeed, livestock grazing is seen as one of the most important factors in preserving Dartmoor's rich and diverse landscapes and the key to maintaining the environment for wildlife, recreation and tourism.'

The association said its marketing campaign is a proactive response by its co-operative farming members to tackle some of the problems facing the region's hill farmers when it comes to the viability of the traditional approach to livestock farming in the South West.

Andy Bradford, of Brimpts Farm, a second generation Dartmoor farmer, said: 'This is the first time that my farming neighbours and I have really come together to impart knowledge and ideas for the greater good.

'This shared knowledge and collaboration will stand us all in good stead to respond to customer demand for our fine produce, with consistent supply otherwise not possible on our own.

'As a group we will have the credibility and a critical mass necessary to help us achieve far greater goals and put our native Dartmoor meat back on the foodie map for all to experience.'

For more information about the DFA or their meat boxes visit http://www.dartmoorfarmers.co.uk">www.dartmoorfarmers.co.uk or call 0800 756 1396.