Email: info@parsonshallfarm.co.uk
Traditional Hereford Cattle
Dear visitor, we’ll let you into a secret, and you’re welcome to tell your friends, as long as they come to Parsons Hall Farm and allow us to continue breeding Hereford’s, that most majestic of creature we both know and love: Owning a Traditional Hereford, you see, is like being blessed with owning a piece of living and breathing history. These majestic (and rare) creatures have been in the area even longer than we have, grazing the glorious Herefordshire countryside since well before the 17th Century.
If that’s where your knowledge of Hereford’s ends then relax, sit back and get comfortable. Allow us to take you on a journey, just for a minute…
…Way back in time, before modern technology and an obsession with pop-culture swept the world, a skilled group of breeders who cared more about Hereford’s than anything else started breeding and nurturing this delightful animal. That was two-hundred-and-fifty years ago, and we feel proud to think what they’d say if they saw ours grazing now.
Now, these breeders were eminent and special because of one thing: they liked things done properly. By that we mean that they liked to keep their animals pure and completely English through-and-through. For this reason, records dating back to 1846 – the date of the very first Herd Book Records, no less – prove that Traditional Hereford’s contain absolutely no imported blood. (Not that there’s anything wrong with foreign blood, it’s just that by keeping things pure we can be 100% sure that the flavour that was so loved back in the day is still adored now, keeping the tradition of great tasting English meat alive and well.)
All those generations ago, Welsh border farmers and Herefordshire farmers prided themselves on producing the finest, most supreme grazing animal that would ever set hoof in Hertfordshire. An animal that was no fuss…an animal that fulfilled these generations’ basic needs for meat (food, survival) and hide (warmth, protection from the elements and other such uses): a material that has since received wide-spread recognition as being good for covering baseballs etc. I mean, think about it: where would John Wayne have been without it?
Another reason why the Hereford was (and is!) so celebrated is because of its practicality: a Hereford is no-nonsense, simple and does the job – even better, its lack of maintenance has made the breed one of the most sought after in the many grasslands of the World.
Quite simply, a Traditional Hereford likes the simple things in life, is perfectly symmetrical, and has a certain character and charm to its temperament that any breeder will surely speak of.
Our Goals
It’s very simple: we want to breed the best and most consistent cattle, keeping the great name of the Traditional English Hereford alive for years to come while also producing animals of the right size to please our growing line of customers. On top of this we have all the little things worked out, too.
Meaning that we feed our cattle on the hay from our meadows in the winter months and the sweet meadow grass in the summer time, so only the best meat possible is produced and sold.
And there’s much more to it than just following those simple rules, of course. Keeping cattle is both an art and a science, one that we don’t want you to have to worry about when settling down to eat your lovely stew but one that is essential for you to have such splendid stew in the first place!
Traditionally, Breeders have always relied upon their knowledge of past generations of cattle to create the best possible standards for the future. It should go without saying, then, that we aim to continue this science, just as they would have wanted, adhering to the rules. That means being aware of the commercial market and understanding how tastes change and develop.
This strict adherence to the old-fashioned rules of our predecessors enables us to do two things:
1) maintain the characteristics that make the breed what it is and
2) meet the challenges set by the modern market, ensuring a high-standard of beef production even when we are rushed off our feet.
About Our Herd
We wish you could meet each of our herd before they meet you at the dinner table, but alas that’s not possible, so we’ll now do our best to describe our herd and about herd’s in general.
Traditional Hereford’s are sort of like the super-stars of the cattle world, we think. They are strong, hardy and early maturing. Even better they are a matchless forager who excel when it comes to calving. On top of this – and the fact that our herd is the best in these here parts – the females are excellent mothers and know a thing or two about producing milk, even if we do say so ourselves. They don’t just make any old milk, you see. Our beauties make tons of high butter-fat milk, and it doesn’t even end there!
Traditional Hereford’s are also masters at converting grass and grass-based products into beef. They do this efficiently and economically, and are docile as you like, meaning that they are as easy to manage as the nicest house pet (though we are of course not suggesting you eat your house pet, even if it is a Hereford!)
What else? Well how about this, then: each and every member of our herd is traceable. So we know their history almost as well as they do, from their very first foot-step to every birthday after (which is good, because as clever as they are, they are usually too busy with their mouth’s full of grass to tell us!)