We started building our herd of pedigree polled Hereford Cattle at Caradoc in 2007. We breed all our own replacements and, as such, the herd’s genetics are becoming adapted to the local environment on our farm.

The cows are almost 100% pasture fed, grazing our permanent pastures and herbal leys in the summer months (usually from April to November) and being fed hay and silage from the farm whilst housed in the shed over the winter. Muck and straw from overwinter housing is composted then spread on the arable fields to boost soil organic matter (carbon), feed soil micro-organisms, and add nutrition back to the soil.

Whilst the cows are outside their muck is doing this directly as the cows are a key part of the nutrient cycle. In addition to this a single cowpat is exploding with life and is an ecosystem in itself. A single cow can support the development of 2 million insects per year through it’s cowpats alone.

We use a rotational grazing system to ensure that the land has enough rest to allow plants to maintain their root system, thereby keeping the soil healthy and meaning they can put their energy into regrowing the leaves on the top rather than having to regrow the roots. It’s also more hygienic for our animals as moving them regularly means they are not always eating where they poo. This means they are less exposed to parasites and we can reduce the amount of medication we need to give them.

In January this year (2024) we took the leap and finished one of our own animals meaning we have beef available for direct purchase for the first time. We may be biased but we think it’s delicious and there’s a certain feel good factor in knowing that an animal has a had a good life and diet from start to finish! Available cuts can be found here.