Cattle
Ruminating over breed choices - Tom Chapman gives some practical guidance on the merits of different breeds of cattle
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| Some of Tom Chapman's Hereford cattle |
FANCY rearing something different? Kobe beef, from the Wagyu breed of cattle in Japan is reputed to be the most expensive beef in the world, selling for upwards of £200 per kilogramme.
As you may expect, there are some snags - to produce the finely-marbled and textured beef, the cattle are reputedly fed a diet of grain and stout as well as receiving a daily massage from their owners!
Also, to make things more confusing, the Wagyu "breed" can actually refer to four different breeds of Japanese cattle and to receive the label "Kobe Beef" the animals must be raised and slaughtered in Japan (they protect the name in much the same way as the Champagne region of France, or the Parmigiano-Reggiano region of Italy does).
So, if the Wagyu is not for you, what other breeds are available? The choice can be intimidating to the uninitiated with choices ranging from the diminutive Dexter (average size c.100cm at the shoulder) to the towering Chianina, which can stand over 180cm high at the shoulder. There are even two species of cattle, Tarus, the UK and European cattle, and Indicus, the humped cattle of tropical countries. Apologies to any overseas readers, but in this article I will concentrate on breeds within the Tarus species.
A good starting point when choosing your breed is to consider why you want to keep cattle. If you like the idea of fresh milk every day, then you should consider either a specialist dairy breed or a dual purpose animal.
Be warned, a specialist dairy cow such as a Holstein may produce up to 50 litres of milk each day at its peak, will need milking twice a day, every day, without fail and will need correspondingly large amounts of feed to be available at all times. Additionally, their offspring will lack muscle and consequently will be difficult to "finish" (ie rear into a satisfactory beef animal) and the male cattle, unless castrated, are notoriously dangerous and difficult to handle.
Some of the other breeds, including those from the Channel Islands and the Brown Swiss, will produce milk with higher levels of milk solids (fat and proteins) - ideal if you plan to make ice cream, yoghurts or cheeses with the surplus milk. Because of the increased milk solids, the milk will also be creamier - and in my opinion much tastier!
A dual-purpose breed may be more suitable for many. These breeds, as the name suggests, can be milked, say once a day for household consumption, with the calf drinking any surplus milk. They also have the beef conformation, or shape, that means the fattened offspring produce a good beef carcass. There is still quite a commitment on a daily basis, though the calf's suckling reduces some of the pressure, both literally and metaphorically. Many of the dual-purpose breeds have been bred to survive Britain's weather conditions and grass growing seasons so are hardy, good foragers with strong feet and weatherproof coats, hence they are ideally suited to a grass-based system.
If you wish to keep cattle purely for beef production, then the first thing you need to decide is whether you want to house the cattle and rear them intensively, for at least part of their life, or whether you want to keep them outdoors for much of the time, on a grass-based or extensive system.
Both traditional UK breeds and the larger, so-called continental breeds, are suitable for an intensive beef system (although the UK breeds will need careful management as they are more prone to laying down fat - they are said to be "early maturing"). You will need adequate shed space with access to feed and water troughs. You will probably also need specialist machinery to feed and bed them on a regular basis, and to clean out the sheds when the cattle are finished (although contractors could be used for the latter). Such systems are generally more suited to commercial rearers and are outside the scope of the average smallholder.
For an extensive system, native cattle breeds are generally more suited, for all the reasons given for dual purpose breeds. The larger, continental cattle will struggle to get enough nutrients from grazed grass alone and will need supplementary feeding for much of the year. I run a small herd of Hereford cattle - traditional, blocky animals that thrive on grass, have low maintenance requirements, are docile and easy calving. Even the bulls are relatively quiet and easy to handle (though we always urge you to take precautions when in the vicinity of any bull, as they can be unpredictable regardless of the breed).
We aim to calve our cows in early spring so that as the grass grows longer and more luscious, the cows produce more milk to feed the growing calf. They are excellent grazers and their docility means they are ideally suited for pasture management and for renting out to landowners who don't want the responsibility of owning cattle themselves.
Many of the native breeds will do a similar job to the Hereford; indeed as I write we are in discussions with a family who want to keep Belted Galloways on their land (this desire is driven purely by the family's Scottish ancestry and their childhood memories of looking out over a field of "Belties") As this demonstrates, the choice of breed can be driven by no more than your personal preferences.
One other factor to bear in mind when considering what breed of cattle to choose is the existence of rare breeds. The Rare Breed Survival Trust (www.rbst.org.uk) does excellent work in recording and promoting endangered breeds and recognises that smallholders are ideally suited to keeping such gene pools alive, often not having the commercial pressures of their larger farmer counterparts.
It may well be worth looking into rare breeds and not for altruistic reasons alone. Their meat is often slightly more fatty than modern breeds, but fat means flavour and tenderness, especially if the fat is intramuscular (commonly known as "marbling" of the meat).
They too will usually be very hardy animals, harking back to the days of the traditional smallholder (or "peasant" as we nostalgically call them nowadays). Bear in mind that, because by definition the sheer numbers of rare breed animals around are low, there may be some difficulties getting hold of suitable breeding stock and semen, so they will not be suitable for all landowners.
For beef breeds, the other consideration is how you plan to handle the carcass and meat after the animal is slaughtered. All beef will benefit from hanging - this is not some barbaric practice, instead it means keeping the carcass in a refrigerator for between three and six weeks to allow it to mature and tenderise. Intensively bred beef will have little "grain" to the beef so you can get away with less (or no) hanging - the supermarkets regularly do. However, to get the best flavour and texture from your beef, especially the slower grown, extensive animals, hanging for at least four weeks is almost a must and the resulting beef will be exquisite. (I would also recommend Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's excellent "River Cottage Meat Book" for tips on how to cook your beef properly.)
Many of the beef breeds are represented by breed societies, and many of these now have excellent websites for more information. So in summary, think about your needs, consider your facilities and the system you wish to employ, research the breeds and make your choice. But remember, keeping purebred cattle is addictive and before you know it you may be feeding them Guinness and giving them a daily rub-down too!
Tom Chapman is an agricultural consultant with Heath Chapman Associates. Visit www.heathchapman.com for more information about the services offered.
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