CUCKOO HILL FARM
Traditional Longhorn Beef - Brookfield Longhorns at Cuckoo Hill Farm
Stephen and Daniel Wright run a herd of approximately 160 pedigree breeding Longhorn cows, producing quality beef from grass managed systems. At Cuckoo Hill, overlooking the catchment area of the Ouse-Valley, they are not organic, nor do they use any artificial fertiliser or sprays on their 700 acres of grassland. They graze a myriad of grass types from red clover and rye grass leys, which they also conserve for Winter forage, to old ridge and furrow permanent grassland, some of which includes HLS grazing. They also summer graze on some of the common land adjoining the River Cam in the City of Cambridge. These unimproved pastures with their rich flora and fauna date back centuries. Longhorns are renowned for being non-selective grazers which gives taste and flavour an extra dimension.
They try and farm with sensitivity using environmental standards that enhance their local wildlife. Cattle graze alongside brown hares and nesting English partridge, Barn Owls quarter the hedgerows and fields daily. The quality beef produced here has heritage, provenance and traceability beyond reproach. They breed all their replacement cows, produce their own bulls and sell breeding stock nationwide. The meat that you purchase is conceived on the farm, grown slowly over a period of 2.5 to 3 years to induce natural muscle, complete with marbling and finished and slaughtered humanely all in the local area. Whilst the animals are being farmed here at Cuckoo Hill and looked after in the main by Stephen Wright. The whole farm welfare is overseen by a team from The Queen's Veterinary School Hospital, at the University of Cambridge, who use the farm and the traditional cattle as a teaching tool for veterinary students.
