We have been buying and finishing native bred cattle since Willowford Farm was established over 20 years ago. We chose these type of cattle as they are naturally a hardier type and can be kept outdoors all year long and their food to meat conversion rates are very impresive but most importantly they have a far more natural marbling to the meat than more modern European breeds, this means when coo
ked the beef remains very succulent which helps flavour and does'nt suffer from as much shrinkage as other breeds. The breeds we use are Aberdeen Angus, Blue Grey, Luing, Shorthorn and Galloway these are usually bred on higher ground where they are allowed to mature on lush grass and given plenty time to grow naturally. These are bought as 300-400kg stores at markets around Scotland and north Northumberland and also direct from local farms, we like to let them grow as much on our grass fields before introducing them to their finishing ration wich includes a grain mix, silage, straw and minerals they are finished off at aprox 25-30 month where they weigh between 550-650kg by then they will have a good finish and have a nice fat cover to allow them to be hung for up to 35 days on the hook which allows the beef to mature and give it a lovely dark colour this makes it far more tender and also inhances the rich flavour of our beef. Supermarket beef is generally only hung for 7 days on the bone but they will tell you its 21days but that's because it's been vaccum packed which is totally different from hanging naturally.
