We breed two very different types of cattle; Northern Dairy Shorthorns  and Traditional Herefords. We selected these breeds for their hardyness and ability to thrive in the north of England. Our cattle graze most of the year and  need very little supplementary feeding. Both cattle have a purpose on our holding

Northern Dairy Shorthorns are the British Isles rarest native cattle, with only 16 pure bred animals surviving, and a further 25 animals that are over 90% pure. Tracey initially decided on this breed as she wanted a cow that could produce milk, butter and cheese for the home and have enough milk left to suckle a calf. We also wanted an animal that could be used for beef, the Northern Dairy fit the criteria and the hunt was on to find some cattle. When we began our search we did not realise how rare these cattle were, we knew they were on the Rare Breed Survival Trusts list of critically endangered animals, but assumed there were just less than 150 cattle as the in 1944 the herd book listed over 10,000 females and 750 bulls. We started to look for breeders on the internet and made numerous phone calls and were laughed at a lot, we were even told we had more chance of winning the lottery than finding any cattle.

Our search finally found the Dixon Family, Geoff, Sandra and Shaun, and we purchased our first two cows and a young bull.  The Dixon family have been breeding Northern Dairy Shorthorns for over twenty years and have a wealth of experiance they were only too willing to share.

Tradition Herefords - John has always loved this breed of cattle and when we realised it would take years to build up a herd of NDS we decided to purchase three Traditional Hereford cows. The cattle were purchased from the Trindledown Herd in Berkshire.

The Traditional Hereford was once a tripple pupose breed, it was used to produce milk for the home, a calf for beef and the animals were also used like oxen, to plough the fields. Hereford beef is world renound for its quality and taste. They are very quiet, docile and so easy to manage. The Traditional Herefords are clasified as at risk by the RBST, with less than 750 remaining. Traditional Herefords can trace their linage back to the mid 1800's. They are amongst the most important cattle in Britians history and were transported all over the world.