Hereford Cattle are well known for their wonderful temperament, making them easy to manage. A calmer temperament also means they get less stressed being transported, which in the end makes for better quality meat. They can be found enduring a wide variety of conditions from Canada and the USA to Australia and South Africa, having an amazing ability to thrive under extremely diverse conditions. This ability makes it a popular choice amongst farmers who wish to produce quality beef. We chose to farm with Herefords for all these reasons as well as their ‘locality’ – it is nice to see them in the fields and know that they originate from a nearby county. For more information on Hereford cattle check out the Hereford Cattle Society website.

Our bull, Popeye is about five years old and he should still be going strong in 10 years time. Some of our cows have also been around for ten or more years, not great for breeders but good for us! They know us and they know the farm, which makes managing them and their calves all the more enjoyable.

A few tips on how to recognise good quality beef:

1. Meat should always be firm to the touch.
2. The lean should be a bright red with brownish tinge. A very dark colour and dry appearance usually indicates that the meat has been cut and exposed to the air for some time, or that is from an old and inferior animal.
3. The flesh should contain small flecks of fat. This is known as ‘marbling’ which produces tenderness when cooked. No amount of outside fat is a substitute for this. Very lean meat is often flavourless and tough.
4. The fat should be creamy in colour, from light to dark cream. At some times of the year it can be almost yellow. This does not indicate cow beef (tough) but is due to certain breeding and feeding.
5. The amount of visible gristle varies with the cut, but prime cuts should contain very little. A layer of gristle between the muscle and outer layer of fat indicates an old animal.