BEEF from a Dorset farm is going on the menu at Durlston Country Park.

The beef from Jo and Paul Dyer's 40-strong herd of Hereford suckler cows will also be be sold in the park's shop in future, it is hoped.

The herd graze for 10 months of the year at Durlston.

The family are tenant farmers at the 156-acre Knaveswell Farm between Corfe Castle and Swanage. They took over in 2007 and Jo and Paul farm the land with help from their three teenage daughters, Issy, Caitlin and Georgie.

Katie Black, Durlston senior ranger, said the cattle provided good conservation management: “They are essential for grazing and conservation management. Hereford’s are gentle on the land, easy to look after as well as being well-liked.”

Jo said: “There was nothing here when we arrived apart from the buildings and an old milking parlour. We’ve had to buy the herd of cows, tractor and machinery, taken out bank loans and worked incredibly hard to where we’ve got to. We don’t employ any staff but our 14 year old daughter helps with the afternoon milking after school and we have a relief milker.”

The hard work has paid off, with milk from the 120 Holstein Friesians going to produce Purbeck ice-cream via the Arla cooperative. They also have a new milking parlour jointly funded by them and the county council, which was completed in 2013.

But with the milk price fluctuating so wildly, the Dyers realised they could not rely on the dairy sector providing them with a living. They decided to move into glamping in 2008, and now operate independently with five large en-suite safari lodge tents set at the edge of woodland in a secluded field on the dairy farm.

Each tent sleeps up to six guests and includes a large woodburning stove with oven, rustic kitchen unit, kitchen dresser, beds, sofa and much more. Glampers can collect eggs for breakfast from the hens on site and visit the piglets and lambs if they are in residence.

Jo added: “It’s great that we have found people coming back year after year. We are very keen for holidaymakers to shop locally to help improve the prosperity of the rural economy.”

Ben Lancaster, Dorset County Council senior estate surveyor, said: “They are running a fantastic dairy unit, providing excellent conservation management at Durlston with their Herefords and all this is underpinned by their glamping, which is helping support the rural economy in Purbeck.”