Sussex are a native, local English breed. It is believed that the Sussex breed of today is descended directly from the red cattle that inhabited the dense forests of the Weald at the time of the Norman Conquest.
Sussex are characterised by the marbling of fat and crimson meat, producing succulent beef with a rich taste. They are a comparatively small and quiet breed with the ability to thrive on rougher grazing such as our Countryside Stewardship wildflower meadows.

The breed is fast gaining in popularity because of consumer demand for old-fashioned tasting beef.

Sussex cattle are a naturally slow-maturing breed, which allows them to develop a rich taste and marbling without the use of additives or premature fattening. Once mature, the animals are carefully selected by the farmer for the correct amount of fat cover and muscle development.

From each year's calves, we retain the heifers, or female calves, for breeding. They are reared with the male calves until such time as the main herd of breeding cows has finished calving, then they are separated and the heifers join the breeding herd. The heifers are put to the bull and have their first calves at two and a half to three years old. The gestation period for a cow is 9 months and we usually calve from December. The calves are weaned at around 10 months old so that the cows can recover condition before the following year's calf.

Our cows are naturally served by Frank, a half Sussex, half Limousin bull, who brings a better conformation (carcass shape) and leanness to the calves than a pure Sussex. The choice of bull suits our farming methods and our ultimate aim, which is to produce quality beef.

The cows and young stock graze the pastures from the end of March until November/December. During the winter they are brought into the buildings and fed silage made during the summer. This minimises damage to the pastures and allows the grasses to regenerate through the winter, while providing the cattle with the extra feed needed to keep them through the cold weather and calving.

Fattening stock are kept outdoors throughout the winter and are fed silage and GM-free cereals to supplement them through the winter.
Bull calves are castrated shortly after birth, from which time they are referred to as steers, and reared until around 24 months old when they become mature beef.

Products from cattle

As well as producing our rich-tasting beef, the cattle assist in the ongoing restoration of the natural chalk downland in the Shabden valley. Cattle are an excellent grazing animal for conservation, especially in combination with sheep, as they graze the clumpy, coarse grasses which the sheep do not eat. The sheep then graze the plants at a length which encourages fresh growth and tillering. This allows wildflowers to grow up unhindered as can be seen by the species-rich sward in the valley.

The cattle hides, or skins, are processed by the abattoir and sent away to be tanned to make leather for clothing and furniture.