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Cattle
 Type - The farm has 220 suckler cows – 175 cross Simmental and 45 Highland Cows. These are crossed with Charalais, Simmental and Highland bulls. The cows calve in May and June producing hopefully 220 calves per year. They are fed on grass or straw supplemented with pot ale syrup, maize gluten and brock (reject) potatoes.
When the calves are older some are used to replace older cows in our breeding herd but most are finished and sold for the beef.
Health
 The health of the cattle is very important and they can become ill like humans. For example pneumonia can occur in wet weather. We produce a health care plan for all our livestock with our vets and they prescribe medicine for sick animals. Any medicine given must be recorded.
Animal Identification
Every animal must have a passport that stays with the animal where ever it goes. All the animals have two tags with their own unique identity to make sure that we know them. When calves are born or when we buy and sell cattle or when cattle die we must inform the British Cattle Movement Service. We can email their details directly to BCMS on the day they are moved.
Dung
When the cattle courts are cleaned out and the waste product of straw and dung is put into a midden. This is left to mature and is spread on the fields in autumn//winter to provide natural fertiliser for the crops and improve the soil structure.
Sheep
Type - There are 1900 breeding females producing about 2500 lambs for sale per year. The lambing takes place in May. We keep around 60 rams.
Sheep are fed on haylage, oats and maize gluten through the winter until grass grows in the spring.
Health
Sheep, like the cattle, have a programme of prophylactic care and are given medicine if they become ill.
Pigs
 Type - There are 500 Large White x Duroc sows in our breeding pig herd and from these sows we produce approximately 10,000 pigs to sell per year. Approximately 300 are used to replace older sows with the breeding herd and the remainder are sold for pork. Pig production is continuous and from birth to leaving the farm takes 5-6 months.
Pigs are fed on rations containing mainly cereals and soyabean meal (what’s left after vegetable oils have been squeezed from the soya beans for cooking oils and margarine etc.). When the piglets are weaned
 they are fed rations containing mainly cooked cereals and maize along with dried milk.
Health
Our pigs live outdoors and are very healthy. This high health status is very important and just as diseases spread through humans if the meet or congregate together then pig diseases spread also. It is important for us to prevent pig disease spreading by minimising the contact with people or vehicles that are associated with pigs. This is called Bio security and saves us losing pigs from disease and spending money on antibiotics.
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