A Longhorn cow with her characteristic horns, distinctive white stripe down her back and her dark blue roan or lighter red brindle coat is quite a head-turner. But looks aside it was the Longhorn, as the oldest British beef breed, which made England famous for its fine Roast Beef.

Hundreds of years ago farmers bred cattle to be easy to handle, hardy and to pull the plough. Now in the 21st Century, these traits help produce some of the best beef in the world.  Longhorns have a quiet, gentle nature which produces relaxed meat.  Their hardiness is ideal for converting grass into meat and their strength (now not needed!) produces the marbling.

It's well known that the intramuscular fat or marbling throughout the meat is largely responsible for succulence, tenderness and flavour, all the hallmarks of beef with a superior eating quality. Unlike many rival breeds, which lay down excessive amounts of external fat before the formation of the intramuscular fat, a properly finished Longhorn carcase will have marbling throughout with just the right amount of bark (external fat).

The high butterfat content of the Longhorn milk (in fact the original Stilton and Red Leicester cheeses were made using Longhorn milk) gives the suckled calves a wonderful 'bloom' and the very best start in life.