Beef Shorthorn Cattle:

The breed appealed to us as a native breed, and also for their reputation as natural foragers, easy calvers, a good temperament and generally being good at looking after themselves.   We also love their varieties of colour: roans, reds, whites and a mix of these – though, as those who walk past the herd on the gated road will know, the whites look rather less white during the winter months!

The Shorthorn dates back to the late 18th Century, originally developed as a dual-purpose breed, but in 1958 the Beef Shorthorn became a separate breed with its’ own section in the herd book.  In the 1960’s and 1970’s its’ popularity declined, but they are now back in vogue and increasingly recognised for their meat which is considered of a very high-quality flavour with good marbling.   Our first lot of beef was sold in 2018 since when we have built up a great relationship with our increasing number of clients with great feedback and many putting in repeat orders.

Llanwenog Sheep:

These attractive medium-sized sheep are easily recognisable by their black faces and legs with a small tuft of wool on the forehead.  We love their characters: friendly, cheeky and full of fun!  They are prolific breeders (twins being the norm and sometimes triplets), good mothers with a calm temperament, and have a long life.   The lambs finish really well on grass and the quality of their meat is exceptional, fine-grained with a delicate flavour much-favoured by traditional breed butchers and restaurants.   The feedback has again been excellent.

The Llanwenog dates back to the late 19thCentury when the Shropshire Down was introduced in West Wales and crossed with local mountain sheep, though it was not until 1957 that the breed was formally named and the Llanwenog Sheep Society set up to promote and preserve what was now recognised as a separate breed with exceptional qualities.  They were first listed in 1994 by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust but are making a good recovery and now rated only Category 5.

Our lambing takes place in March/April, so we normally have meat available from September to December.