OUR CATTLE
Shorthorns & Hardy Rare Breeds
Dual purpose is the way forward...
A few years ago, Simon was up at four every morning to milk over a hundred Friesian Holsteins, as his father had. Their yield was high, which is what you want when you get pennies per litre from the milk buyers that supply the supermarkets. The cows were often lame, their udders growing pendulous with age, and the cows didn't live very long.
We had a rethink. What if we went back to a smaller, hardier, traditional breed? And so we bought a herd of pedigree Shorthorns, the beautiful red, white and roan cattle that Simon's grandfather farmed. Our lovely Shorthorn herd are no longer milked, but are a suckler herd, supplying our Butchery Counter and Kitchen at Jolly Nice. They graze our Grade 1 Historic Parkland in Westonbirt every day of the year, encouraging wild flower growth and producing delicious, healthy marbled meat and we notice more butterflies every year.
We had a rethink. What if we went back to a smaller, hardier, traditional breed? And so we bought a herd of pedigree Shorthorns, the beautiful red, white and roan cattle that Simon's grandfather farmed. Our lovely Shorthorn herd are no longer milked, but are a suckler herd, supplying our Butchery Counter and Kitchen at Jolly Nice. They graze our Grade 1 Historic Parkland in Westonbirt every day of the year, encouraging wild flower growth and producing delicious, healthy marbled meat and we notice more butterflies every year.