Will's Organic Beef
Update
A routine TB test in November 2024 brought devastating news. For the first time ever several of our beautiful beef animals 'reacted' to the testing regime. Straight away we lost half the herd to the Government culling regime. Further follow up test continued to take animals to a point at which we could not continue. Our vet has confirmed that the likely cause, given our previously clear record of 25 years, was the influx of Roe deer which we have seen on the farm for the first time in 2024. It is likely that sharing water drinkers in the fields is how TB is passed from the deer to the cattle. Our badger population has always existed alongside our cattle, we believe stable and closed.
We are unable to exclude Roe deer from the farm and so until a strategy for protecting healthy cattle from transmission of TB exists, we cannot take the financial risk of raising cattle for beef.
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Will’s Organic Beef from our home farm at Upper Wick
Our single suckled, Hereford beef animals spend their days grazing our river meadows. In the deep winter months when the grass doesn’t grow (or is covered in water) they contentedly munch through the herb rich hay we have made from this ley during the early summer growth spurt.
Farming along 3km of the banks of the River Teme requires an understanding of nature and the seasonality of the River’s highs and lows (literally!).
We have never cultivated the permanent pastures of the riverbank fields and the flood comes and goes, yes inevitably taking with it a few fences, but the ground in itself recovers quickly, the soil is stabilised because it has a brilliant carpet of deep roots holding it together and the erosion is minimal. Something that cannot be said of the cultivated fields near to us on the banks of the River Severn that have been cultivated year after year intensively in arable rotations, bare soil, herbicides and insecticides much of which is now floating off down river towards the sea.
There is no doubt that this gentle growth results in the best meat. Matured and cut to order our beef joints are a perfect centrepiece for family meals. We offer a full range of cuts - rib, sirloin, fillet, top rump, topside and silverside according to the size you would like. If you have something special in mind, please don’t hesitate to ask, our butcher will be happy to help. Steaks, the best braising steak you’ll ever eat (don’t ask us, our customers will tell you that!), stewing cubes and minced beef that is naturally lean and full of flavour.
Our organic beef box includes a roasting joint, steaks, beef for braising and minced beef. Additional cuts can be included, please request this when ordering.
If you have questions or would like to know more about how we rear our livestock, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
