The cows are docile and dual-purpose, so they are naturally good milkers and hardy so they can be out-wintered.British White cattle are white with black or red points on the nose, muzzle, eyes, ears and teats.It’s my way of life, and it’s exactly how I like it.” “Ultimately, working out- doors is just ‘me’.
“But I love the changing seasons and the diversity of the job,” he continues. “When it’s snowing and blowing, I think I might like to be in a nice warm office in the dry.” So, does he ever think about giving it all up? “Every other day in winter!” he laughs. I rent some 300 acres on the farm so I’m in the LandRover a lot too,” he says. “I’m up at 6:00 a.m., mucking out, checking on the show cattle inside, then checking the stock outside. “So, it feels so great to win prizes and it gives me a great deal of job satisfaction.”Īndrew’s job is certainly not an easy one. “It might sound strange but these shows are essentially my holiday!” he says. He’s since gone on to win second prize in the “Herd of the Year” competition, which saw his British White cattle competing with herds from across the UK, and says the rewards make all the hard work worthwhile. “I was really pleased-if a little shocked!” “At the first one I attended, the Cheshire Show, I was awarded seven first prizes,” says Andrew. Having spent many years growing his herd of British White Cattle, this year Andrew began showing his cattle at agricultural exhibitions for the first time. “I love the breeding, the calving, the challenges of keeping pedigree cattle-I love all the aspects of it,” he says. They mature and fatten on grass, which adds to the unique and lovely flavor.”Īnd, as a member and show judge for the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, the charity set up to protect and conserve the UK’s rare native breeds of farm animals and poultry, Andrew embraces the challenges of rearing such pure breeds. “But they also produce lovely tasting, tender meat.
“They’re an attractive bunch so great for showing,” says Andrew. “When I left school at 16 it seemed a natural path, I suppose you could say it’s in my blood.”īritish White cattle are characterized by their white color, which can include red or black markings, and the distinctive flavorful meat. I worked with them as a young kid and picked up a lot of experience, and during school I worked at a neighbor’s farm too, and got hooked!” says Andrew. “My granddad and uncle were beef and sheep farmers so I got my love of cattle from them. If it wasn’t for people like Andrew Loftus, the breed wouldn’t survive-I couldn’t have done all this without him.” British White cattle grazing in woodland on a bright spring morning British White Cattle: A Breed Apartįarming, and particularly breeding cattle, has been a passion for Andrew from a very young age. “It is a privilege to supply Weeton’s and it is a unique breed to their farm shop. “When Weeton’s owner Andrew Loftus came to see the herd, he just said, ‘I will take all the meat that you can supply!’”
Word of his “Nidderdale Diamonds” spread, and in the last few years he’s been supplying Harrogate farm shop, Weeton’s, with an entire animal each week (quite a feat) in order to provide premium cuts of rare breed beef to its discerning customers.
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