The rare Gloucester cattle breed has been given a boost thanks to a display of the breed’s benefits for farmers and food producers at a well-attended farm event in Gloucestershire. The dual-purpose breed produces wonderful meat and dairy but is categorised as a Priority breed on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Watchlist.

 The Gloucester Cattle Society held the event at Clifford Freeman’s Everes’s Farm, at Redmarley d’Abitot in Gloucestershire, on 8^th October 2022. Expert speakers and guests explored the commercial and environmental opportunities with Gloucester cattle as consumer interest grows in high quality, environmentally responsible meat and dairy products.

 The Gloucester is an ancient breed, numerous in the Severn Vale as early as the 13^th Century and easily identifiable thanks to its distinctive markings – a black-brown body with black head and legs and a white stripe down the back, over the tail and covering the belly. The breed is famous for the crucial role of Gloucester dairy cow Blossom in Edward Jenner’s 1796 experiment which paved the way for the first vaccine.

 But as farming became more industrialised towards the end of the 20^th Century Gloucester herds were progressively replaced by continental breeds and by 1972 only one herd remained. Thanks to the efforts of the Gloucester Cattle Society alongside RBST, the breed was saved and numbers improved. However more recently herd numbers have declined significantly from 54 herds in 2006 to 27 herds in 2020, and the new methodology for the RBST Watchlist in 2021 confirming that the breed was at serious risk. The Gloucester is categorised as a Priority breed on the RBST Watchlist.

 Event host Clifford Freeman, who is a Trustee of RBST and one of the largest keepers of Gloucester Cattle in the country , took over the famous Noent herd of Gloucester cattle from his father Eric who was one of the founders of RBST. Clifford led a discussion at the event about commercial opportunities of the breed for meat. He said: “Gloucester beef is very tender, with good marbling and a wonderful flavour, and there is strong demand from high end restaurants and butchers. The breed is reared slowly, grass-fed in pastures and with very high welfare and environmental standards which is increasingly important to today’s discerning and knowledgeable consumers.”

Charles Martell drew on his great experience with the breed to advise on opportunities in dairy. Founder of cheesemaker and distiller Charles Martell & Son Ltd, he has been making cheese including the famous Double Gloucester, Single Gloucester and Stinking Bishop cheeses for 50 years from one of the oldest herds of Gloucester Cattle in the world. Single Gloucester cheese has a Protected Designated Origin and can only be made in Gloucestershire using the milk from a dairy herd containing Gloucester cattle. Charles explained why Gloucester cattle are excellent for dairy production, with the breed’s flat lactation curve giving an even production of milk for up to 300 days.

 During the event RBST Chief Executive Christopher Price also discussed how promotion of Gloucester cattle as a breed with great commercial potential which also supports the environment is important in ensuring the rare breed has a strong future. After the event he said: “The Gloucester breed is one of the UK’s rarest and oldest cattle breeds, it is not only an irreplaceable part of Gloucestershire’s heritage but it also has an important role in farming and food production today and for the future. Today has shown that with the right knowledge and expertise the breed can form the basis of a profitable business. This event shared invaluable advice from some of the world’s greatest experts on farming with the breed, and encouraged new interest in farming with Gloucester cattle which is crucial to the breed’s survival.”

 Gloucester Cattle Society’s Steve Gennings, who farms with the breed in West Sussex, said: “The Gloucester breed has a raft of excellent commercial attributes – as well as being a truly dual purpose animal producing both high quality beef and milk from poorer quality grazing, they also calve easily, are docile and naturally good mothers. This was a really useful and enjoyable event both for farmers who already keep Gloucester cattle and also for those who came along with an interest in adding the breed to their farm.”