Previously we have taken on baby calves and reared them ourselves, had suckler cows and bought in steers to finish.  In many ways it was an experiment for us to see what suited us best.

We have settled on a small suckler herd of  angus and dexter cows with Arthur, our Angus bull.  The calves are cute and a sensible size not to mention how great the meat tastes.  Life for our cows is tough as they are grass reared and rarely get any extra cake, but they still thrive.

We also buy in calves from local dairy farmers to rear either on the cows or on the bucket.