31st May 2021

Securing the future for Lincolnshire’s rarest heritage breed

It’s a sad fact that the love for convenient, consistent and cheap food over the last century has had a dramatic impact on farming and livestock around the world.

Over the last fifty years or more, many of the traditional crops and livestock which we used to value have lost out to the more commercially-friendly alternatives which fill supermarket shelves and dominate the market. While these products may not always taste as good, and they may be more detrimental to the environment, they have been meeting the apparent needs of consumers and retailers for almost half a century.

Chemical fertilisers, intensive farming and mass livestock production have become commonplace around the world and while these have excelled on a commercial level, slower-paced smaller-scale, more sustainable practices have lost out.

Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in cattle.

A historical favourite, rediscovered

While fast-growing, European breeds are reared to meet the needs of low-cost, large-scale retailers and consumers, traditional breeds, such as Lincolnshire’s beloved Lincoln Red are at risk.

So too, are the even more rare, original population Lincoln Reds which we rear on the South Ormsby Estate in the Lincolnshire Wolds.

Today is the final day of Local and Community History Month, a month which also includes Heritage Breeds Week.

With these cattle having a strong association with Lincolnshire and having such a rich history here, it’s important to raise awareness of traditional breeds like these which are close to extinction.

The Massingberd-Mundy Lincoln Red Beef herd is a 400-strong herd of pure, original population Lincoln Red cattle. While other Lincoln Reds were made more commercially attractive in the 1970s through a breed development programme, ours are almost exactly as they were in the 18th century, and their origins can be traced back to the Viking invaders of 449-660 AD.

Saved from the brink of extinction

They’re beautiful animals, which produce a meat which is full of flavour thanks to its rich marbling. The cows prefer a forage-based diet, which is more sustainable, and they grow much slower than other breeds so they live a longer life before they can be slaughtered.

It’s amazing to think that these traits – which we now see as qualities – are the reasons why they weren’t as well-suited to supermarket shelves.

As a result, there are thought to be just several hundred of these original population cattle alive today, making our Lincoln Red herd one of the largest in the world

This is why it’s so important that we help this ancient breed to recover in numbers and protect their future.

Two years ago, we began selling beef from our herd online for the first time with the aim of using home delivery to create a secure and sustainable future for the herd so we can help their numbers recover and support our local economy.

In terms of ethics and sustainability, we’re among the best: The cattle is 100% grass-fed with Pasture for Life certification, the beef comes with a Farm to Fork Traceability Guarantee and it is hung for a minimum of 21 days before being expertly butchered to make sure it’s of the very highest quality.

A sustainable and ethical future

With consumer tastes having changed in recent years, moving away from quantity, to quality, and with sustainability, ethics and tradition now helping to drive shopping habits more than ever, we’re making this ancient breed more accessible to modern consumers.

This year, we’ve refined our offer even further; launching new products which better suit a wider range of customers and which enable us to ensure 100% of the beef we produce is used.

Delivered to people’s doors in environmentally friendly packaging with biodegradable sheep’s wool insulation, we’re proving that there’s a viable future for heritage breeds, and we’re doing it with environmental sustainability and animal welfare as a top priority.

Click here to find out more about sustainable agriculture on South Ormsby Estate, or, to find out more about Massingberd-Mundy Lincoln Red Beef herd, please click here.

Securing the future for Lincolnshire’s rarest heritage breed

A historical favourite, rediscovered

Saved from the brink of extinction

A sustainable and ethical future

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