The Herd
Suckler to beef, start to finish
Every calf born here is reared on its mother and finished on the same ground it was born on.
On most suckler farms the calf is sold at the mart once it's weaned, and the animal passes through three or four different hands before it ever becomes beef. That isn't how it works here. The calf is born on the farm, reared on the cow, weaned, wintered, finished, and goes from here straight to the factory. One farm, one set of hands, the whole way through.
It's a slower way of doing it, and it ties up ground and feed for a lot longer than selling weanlings would. What it buys is that we know exactly what every animal has been fed, how it's been handled, and what kind of a year it has had.
The cows
The herd is a mixed one, and it changes as cows come and go. What matters more than the breeding is that a suckler cow is quiet to handle, calves without trouble, and milks well enough to put a good calf under her.
The year
Calving
The busiest weeks of the year. Cows are watched closely and calves get up and sucking as quickly as possible.
Out to grass
Once the weather and the ground allow it, cows and calves go out together and stay out. The calf grows on grass and on its mother's milk, and does most of its growing in that first summer.
Weaning
Calves are weaned off the cows gradually in the back end of the year, so the change is as easy as possible on both.
Housing
Cattle are housed for the winter and fed on silage saved off the farm. The cows get a rest before calving comes round again.
Finishing
Instead of being sold on as weanlings, the cattle are kept and finished here, then sold to the factory.
Traceability
Every animal on the farm is tagged and registered, and every movement on or off is recorded. Because the cattle are born and finished in the one place, the record for each animal is a short and simple one.
