Nempnett Beef
Home Produced / 100% Grass Fed / In harmony with nature
The Start
We run a beef system called a 'suckler herd', this is where the cow's only job is to rear her calf; we do not milk her, the calf does that for us. Mimicking nature where we can, our cattle naturally calve in the Spring, outside when the weather is improving and the grass is growing.
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100% Grass Fed
Cattle are ruminants, this means they have a digestive system designed to eat grass. Cattle have the amazing ability to turn grass (something we can't digest easily) into a top-quality protein that we can digest!
From the minute our calves are born they begin to drink their mother's milk, milk produced from lush, spring grass. As they grow and their digestive system develops they also begin to eat grass alongside the milk, they do this until they are just under a year old when they can then thrive on grass alone. They then continue to graze with the herd until they are ready for slaughter at a minimum of 2 years old.
Holistically managed
We holistically manage our cattle grazing; meaning we plan their grazing for the season to ensure the cattle are in the right place at the right time for the right reason, that's the plan anyway!
We move our cattle to fresh pasture every day, this has multiple benefits to our land and to the cattle themselves. It means the land and plants have chance to fully recover after grazing, the microbes get to work on the soil and the plants grow new roots to feed the microbes.
Moving them daily, means they get a belly full of fresh grass every day, they leave their cow pats behind for the dung beetles to do their thing and leave the land to rest.
The land is rested for 30-180 days depending on the season and the rate of recovery. We are trying to bring back diversity into our pastures by giving the land longer rest periods and grazing taller, more mature grasses, most of which are trampled back into the soil to feed the microbes to grow more grass.
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Fertiliser free pasture
Grazing taller grasses and trampling a lot back onto the soil surface, along with long rest periods, native grass species and lots of cow pats mean we can produce our beef with no artificial fertilisers. This has huge environmental benefits and is hugely beneficial for the health of our soil.
Enhancing the farm​
Our cattle are a valuable part of our farming system, building soil and managing the landscape. They work hand in hand with the other enterprises on the farm, grazing the pastures before our poultry pass through. They take the height of the grass down making it more suitable for poultry and populate the land with lots of juicy cow pats which attract lots of bugs and insects that the poultry can then forage for and consume.
The end
Once our animals have reached maturity and are well over two years old, they are humanely and respectfully dispatched at a local abattoir just 10 minutes from the farm. The carcass is then dry aged for a minimum of 21 days before being butchered into the joints and cuts we all love and enjoy.
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The result of all this hard work is evident in the quality of the meat, which is full of flavour and packed with nutrients. Meat that's produced from a farming system that's inspired by nature to be enjoyed by you.
