We work with this inspiring couple to be able to offer you some of the best beef available in the UK through our ‘cow share’ way of purchasing. Read why it is so important to support farmers like these.
Hill Top Farm
Neil Heseltine with Partner Leigh Weston farm the very beautiful ‘Hill Top Farm’ at Malham in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Neil and Leigh are passionate about producing 100% pasture fed beef from their 100 strong herd of Belted Galloway Cattle.
The Cattle are grazed all year round on limestone pastures and are never housed. In the most extreme of winters if the cattle need extra sustenance they are fed home grown hay or silage.
This is no hardship for these animals, Belted Galloway Cattle are renowned for their hardy and agile nature and are well equipped for the wind and cold they will experience on the higher Moors of this extensive Farm. Originating in South West Scotland the breed is very distinctive due to its ‘belt’ of white on a black, dun or red body.
Belted Galloway Cattle are incredibly efficient at converting rough grassland into very fine quality beef.
The beef these animal produce is exceptional, due to their diet consisting ONLY of natural herb rich plant matter. The animals get all the minerals and vitamins they need for supreme health in their diet and therefore need no medical intervention. No anti biotic residues here! The meat they produce will naturally pass on a range of these beneficial nutrients to you, and is arguably among the most nutritious meat you can buy.
“All our cattle are finished on grass or occasionally hay, they do not get fed grains at all,” LEIGH
This breed of cattle are at their best and most content when allowed to express their natural instincts. If managed in harmony with their nature you will see them wandering as a herd over the large open areas, occasionally wallowing in the watering areas. The ‘in-calf’ Cows will sneak off to calve and keep the newly born calf hidden for a few days until it is strong enough to be with the herd.
Limestone pasture is a delicate habitat that has been damaged by increased sheep grazing over the last few decades. Sheep graze only the most palatable grasses, and in many areas this has resulted in the rare and important species becoming choked by rank grasses. Hardy native cattle are ideal for restoring the diverse range of flora, their grazing action is less selective so reduces the long grasses. The grazing and trampling action opens up pockets of soil allowing important native species to successfully re-seed. Neil and Leigh farm the Belted Galloway cattle as part of a conservation scheme to regenerate these delicate and important habitats.
The couple Farm within a very High Tier of Higher Level Scheme which encourages farmers to manage land for the benefit of the environment.
“IT RESTRICTS YOU IN TERMS OF WHAT NUMBERS YOU CAN GRAZE, THE TIMINGS OF GRAZING AND WHAT YOU CAN FEED THE ANIMALS, AMONG OTHER THINGS, BUT I DON’T SEE ANY OF IT AS A HINDRANCE. I DO IT BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN IT.
“I BELIEVE THIS IS HOW AGRICULTURE SHOULD BE. THE KEY FOR ME IS IT SHOULD BE SUSTAINABLE, ENVIRONMENTALLY AND FINANCIALLY- NEIL.
The couple are so passionate about sustainable Farming that they do not ‘finish’ the Cattle, they simply allow them to continue grazing year after year until they reach the correct conformation for slaughter. This is often more than double the duration of a commercial grain fed beef animal.
Neil and Leigh want to see their good work continued to the very end, by working through us, to reach out to ‘conscious consumers’ they can make sure the nutritious ethical meat they have spent several years bringing to your table will be FULLY appreciated.
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