Cattle at Intwood Farm

We care deeply about our livestock and observe the highest possible standards of welfare throughout their life. We keep 4 breeds of cattle Highlands, Traditional Herefords, Simmentals, and Limousins each have particular traits that make them suitable for beef production in slightly different ways. However, it is only Herefords and Highland that we sell through our Butchery as we believe these native breeds produce beef with an enhanced flavour of Traditional British Beef.

The Breeds

Highland
Highland cattle are an attractive looking breed with distinctive long hair and horns. The beef that comes from Highland cattle cooks well and has excellent flavour and tenderness. Highland cattle ore quite small and very hardy living equally well on the Scottish Highlands or the rough river mashes and scrubland in east Anglia. They are capable of converting very poor pasture into excellent beef, they are slow growing, but the beef is worth waiting for!

Highland cattle are particularly suited to environmental grazing projects, helping to improve biodiversity. However Highland cattle are not always favoured as they can be feisty at time and need professional handling.

Traditional Hereford (Official rare breed *)
Much shorter legged than the modern Hereford, Traditional Herefords, with their familiar reddish brown colouring and white faces, are well known for their ability to convert grass into top quality meat, which is a particular favourite with our customers producing the roast beef or Old England.

*The traditional or original population Hereford became rare as many Herford breeders moved to the taller modern Hereford but we like to stick to the original breed that is now classed separately to the modern Hereford.

Traditional Hereford’s are particularly suited to environmental grazing projects, helping to improve biodiversity. However, unlike the Highland they are one of the easiest breeds to handle and with their white faces look a picture when grazed on a green meadow in a group.

Simmental

Simmental Cattle originate from the Swiss alps and are used in Switzerland as dairy cows producing milk to make some of the famous Swiss cheeses. However, in the Uk and other nations around the globe they have been selectively bred into predominantly a beef animal, and they now produce a large carcass of quality beef. The Simmental is renowned for being the fastest beef to achieve finished weight and hence is favoured by commercial beef farmers.

We like our Simmentals but just have a few but pride ourselves in our breeding programme to produce sock bulls to sell to other beef farmers.

Limousin

The limousin originates from the Limoges reason in France and is considered one of the UK’s top commercial beef animals. Producing a very efficient carcass with a high percentage of saleable beef and is prized amongst beef farmers.

We like our Linousin’s and have recently expanded the herd producing commercial beef and also Stock bulls for other beef farmers.