Our Cows
A traditional breed reared in high welfare conditions
Whilst our daily activities on the farm vary from wildlife conservation to educating the public on regenerative agriculture, our cattle are central to what we do here. So, no matter how busy we get, we always make sure that there's time for a good ear scratch to keep our cattle happy.
Our herd of Hereford X Cattle
Many years ago, when Andy changed the farm over to the production of beef from dairy, he was so fond of his dairy cows that they became the first mothers of the new herd.
He crossed them with a Hereford bull and the new herd was on it’s way. You can still see the black and white coming out in the herd all these years later. We usually have around 80 animals in the herd.
The cows spend most of the year outside grazing the fields, coming into deep straw barns for a short time in winter to protect the soil, where they are fed hay and silage produced from our meadows in summer. The bedding straw comes from the farm too, made from from a few acres of winter rye and spring barley. We feed no grain at all, and this in turn makes their meat much higher in beneficial fatty acids.
Even when the cows are out and about grazing, we check on them every day - making sure that everyone is where they should be and that they are all looking healthy. We check that they're happy where they are, and that the water supply is working and that there's electric shock in the fence line.
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The cows are integral to maintaining the biodiverse nature of our pastures and meadows and West Town wouldn’t be West Town without their presence.