The Herd

April 2005                

Our herd is comprised of mostly Pedigree Aberdeen Angus - a breed renowned for the superb taste and texture of it's meat - with the addition of some pure bred Hereford females. The object of the pedigree aspect of the herd to the sale of bulls for heifer and dairy use to help protect the valuable investments by those herd  owners. Our present stock bull is Fordel Enterprise, purchased at Perth, and replaces Aynho Proud Galaxy from February 2006. In December 2007 our own Standlynch Elton was introduced to the herd and was initially run with a group of heifers, he will be alternating duties with Enterprise as well as allowing flexibility when close relatives of one or other bull are due for service.

Our first stock bull, as pictured on our home page, Prestige of Gaston Wood had good height and length. Galaxy was chosen to improve our herd by adding breadth to the rump and showed excellent results - see photograph below, and Enterprise was chosen to continue the trend, as well as to bring improved calving ease indices. Elton's own indices  (click on the symbol below his picture) will add will add strength to the picture.

 

Our first Angus were purchased in autumn 1999 from Howard and Alison Smith, and females from various breeders have been used. However the majority of our females are now home bred, and we now have over 80 pedigree Angus breeding females.

The much of the summer grazing is on the meadows of the river Avon. This land has been entered into the Avon Valley ESA from the start of the scheme. It receives no nitrogen, and the minimum amount of weedkillers, to spot treat docks and thistles. As such it is a haven for many breeding birds. On the chalk downland, as part of our Countryside Stewardship agreement we have a total of 65 acres of Arable Reversion - former arable fields now grassed down, and with no inputs and a corresponding lower grazing density. We hope that this will start to look like traditional downland in a few years time.

The best bull calves are left entire to mature into breeding bulls, and the remainder will be fattened for slaughter for top quality beef.

During this  period of expansion in the herd our best heifers have been kept back for breeding here. However we hope to have breeding heifers for sale in 2009 or 2010.

The future? - well young Rachel here seems to know where she is going -