Our Cattle

The cattle at Treberfedd are from the native traditional Hereford breed. Traditional Hereford cattle are famed for producing superb marbled beef from grass and forage alone - ideal for the organic, environmentally sustainable farming system at Treberfedd.

The 'Aeron Herd' was established in 2005 and we now have 15 pedigree cows at Treberfedd plus a pedigree traditional Hereford Bull and young stock. We are helping to preserve this ancient native breed with help from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust .

Traditional Hereford's are medium size cattle, red in colour with short curved horns and a ‘beefy’ build. We do not remove the cows horns as we aim to rear the cattle in as natural a way as possible. The breed is well known for being docile and easy to handle. Hereford cattle are also superb at efficiently converting grass into excellent quality beef.

History of the Breed

They are described as 'Traditional Hereford's' because they are the pure type of Hereford which originates from the English/Welsh borderlands. The original Hereford's were so good at converting grass into quality beef and so adaptable to different climates that in the 19th century they were exported all over the world. Today they are the worlds biggest beef breed with large numbers in Canada, USA, Australia and Argentina.

In North America the Hereford's were bred to be bigger, with longer legs. Bulls of this type were then imported back to Britain meaning that today there are very few of the original type Hereford's left. 'Traditional Hereford's' have no bloodlines from imported North American Hereford cattle. They are generally smaller and hardier than the larger modern type of North American Hereford. Our cattle are pedigree animals and their family lines can be traced back to the Hereford Cattle Society herd book of 1847.

Traditional Hereford's are now classed as a rare breed. In the 1960's there were over 19,000 traditional hereford's but by 2005 there were just over 500 breeding females left. However the breed is once again increasing in popularity as people realise the benefits of this hardy, easy to manage native breed.