Farm shops in West Jutland

Out on the Kronhede heath between Torsted and Ulfborg lies one of the most singular farms in the region. Lystbækgaard has belonged to Berit Kiilerich since 1999, Denmark's first formally trained shepherdess. Her sheep are old Nordic breeds that have lived on the Jutland heath for centuries, and they are still used today to keep the landscape open.

In the shop you will find leg of lamb, lamb steaks, mince and snack sausages for a tapas board, along with sheepskins and woollen goods. There is also a small café serving bread baked on site from organic flour, plus changing workshops and exhibitions on spinning, knitting and weaving.

Important: Lystbækgaard normally opens on Thursday afternoons only, otherwise by arrangement. Call ahead and you can usually visit outside the regular hours.

The best known farm shop on the coast sits about five kilometres north of Söndervig, directly on coastal road 181, which means it is effectively on the way for anyone staying in Söndervig, Houvig, Klegod or Hvide Sande. Dorthe and Jens farm an old holding here between the North Sea and the fjord.

The beef comes from cattle that have spent their entire lives in the dunes around the farm and is dry aged on the bone. Alongside it you will find barbecue sausages, salami, bread baked on site, homemade ice cream and a cheese counter that justifies the detour on its own: Vesterhavsost, Fyrtårnsost and Ravost, plus varieties from Troldhede and Thise.

The regional shelves carry klithonning, Stauning Whisky, porsesnaps, Vesterhavsmost and Hvide Sande Øl, a beer brewed with sea lyme grass and rosehips. The farm also roasts its own Vesterhavskaffe to an old family recipe, which you can drink in the little café with a slice of cake or a turmeric roll with cheese.

North of Videbæk, bison graze on West Jutland pasture. For children this is the highlight of a rainy week, because the animals can be watched at length from the field edge. The shop sells bison meat, which is leaner and more aromatic than beef and works particularly well for steaks and slow cooked dishes.

Important: the shop opens strictly by prior arrangement. Call and agree a time before you drive out.

If fresh vegetables are what you are after, this stop is compulsory. Bjergs lies between Söndervig and Ringköbing right on the main road, so you pass it automatically on your way to the shops or the swimming pool in Ringköbing.

There are potatoes from their own fields, carrots, kale, leek, rhubarb, strawberries and whatever else is in season. The range shifts noticeably as the summer goes on. In spring the new potatoes are the star, from late June it is the strawberries.

Britta and Søren Pedersen have farmed organically at Højmark since 1991. The shop followed in 1998 and was extended in 2012. In 2019 Økoladen was voted Denmark's best farm shop by Goforlocal, and you understand why the moment you step into the old barn that houses it.

More than 40 different vegetables grow on the farm, alongside beef from their own Jersey oxen, whose meat is unusually tender. The shelves hold over 1,400 organic products: cheese and dairy from Thise, goat's cheese, ice cream from Skarø, juices and jams from Søbogaard, organic chicken, pork and cold cuts from the butcher in Vemb, and eggs from the Økogårdene in Skjern Enge.

Opening days: usually Tuesday to Thursday afternoons, longer on Fridays and mornings on Saturday. Hours shift with the season, so a quick look at okoladen.dk is worth it.

The organic farm St. Gaasdal near Borris sits on the edge of Skjern Enge, one of the largest river restoration projects in northern Europe and an excellent destination for a bike ride or a morning of birdwatching. The shop sells its own products under the name Økogårdene Skjern Enge and adds specialities from other nearby producers, chosen by the same standards.

You will find beef, pork, chicken and lamb, plus salami, frankfurters, the Skjern Enge ham, liver pâté and ready meals for the evening when nobody feels like cooking. St. Gaasdal supplies Thise, so the cheese counter is correspondingly good. In the freezer sits the farm's own ice cream, made with milk from its own cows.

If you discover on a Sunday evening that the fridge is empty, this is the place that saves you. At Gæstehuset in Tarm there is a small door in the corner that is always open. Pure self service: you take what you need and pay for it yourself.

The range covers local, regional and national producers: wine and goods from Fjordgården Vin og Vadehav, coffee from Fjordens Risteri, nuts from Nødderisteri, Fanø ham, flour from Forum, beer from Hvide Sande Bryghus, pickled beetroot from local producer Kroghuset and Lyne potatoes on the field to plate principle.

With arguably the finest view on this list, Enghavegård sits near Billum on the Ho Bugt, in the northern part of the Vadehavet National Park. From Blavand, Vejers and Ho you are there in minutes.

Lone and Martin Hansen make mainly washed rind cheeses in their own dairy and are constantly developing new varieties. The genuinely special part is the cycle behind it. The whey left over from cheesemaking is fed to the farm's free range organic pigs. Their meat is then turned into salami, smoked products and long matured ham in the farm's own sausage kitchen and smokehouse, stored in earth cellars. You can see the pigs out on the pasture and look into the production yourself.

Opening days: usually Thursday and Friday afternoons, plus Saturday mornings in high season from mid June to mid September.

For guests in Henne Strand, Houstrup, Vejers and Blåvand this is the most practical farm shop of them all, because it is open daily from 8am to 8pm. Self service makes that possible. You walk in, take what you want and pay by MobilePay, card or cash in Danish kroner. Eva is usually nearby if you have questions about how to cook something.

The Kousgaard family has farmed organically here since 1989 and now has its own abattoir on site, which spares the animals the stress of transport. Lamb from this farm is served in some of the best restaurants in the country. The shop also sells beef, pork, duck and goose, alongside organic cheese, wine, honey, game, sheepskins, flowers, snaps, salt, chocolate and jam.

Insider tip: outside shop hours you can still get fresh eggs, potatoes, vegetables and honey from the so called stalddørssalg, the stall set up right at the stable door.

Right at the entrance to Sønderho, the southernmost village on the island, you will find Camilla Fischer-Nielsen's farm shop. It is best known for the meat from its own Scottish Highland cattle, which stay outdoors year round on the organic land around the farm. There is fillet, steak, mince and more, plus organic eggs from her own hens.

The shelves are full of island and Wadden Sea specialities: beer from Fanø Bryghus, Fanø Bolsjer, Fanø Salt, Fanø Lyng honey, Stauning Whisky, mead from the Tarp brewery and cheese from regional dairies. There is also a wide selection of craftwork that makes a good souvenir.

Insider tip: the eggs sit in the stalddørssalg right outside the shop and are available even when the shop itself is closed. If you are staying in a holiday home on Fanö, combine the trip with a walk through the thatched lanes of Sönderho.