Society summer visit 2023

Society summer visit to Halliloo Longhorns, Woldingham, Surrey. 
Sunday 6 August 2023
 
Babs and Nick Fuller and their son Oliver run Church Farm Services which includes four main enterprises
 
Two livery yards looking after 40 customer’s horses, offering full or part livery, flood lit sand schools and on farm hacking.  Hay, haylage and straw sales selling into the equine market, local farmers and into the trade.  Contracting offering foraging, baling and muck spreading services to local farmers and AD plants.
 
Then there is the Longhorn cattle - the herd was started in 2008 when the first two heifers were purchased from Jill Tait of the Saxonbury herd.  The following year five more cows were purchased, one from Jill again and four from the Cwrt Henllys herd dispersal sale.  Over the next few years three more cows where purchased but apart from them all the breeding animals are home produced.  Our first bull Heyworth Ernest was purchased in 2009 and since then we have managed to usually swap for a new bull!  Our bull stays in with the girls all year round.  There are now 70 cows and heifers to calve this year and the whole herd is some 220 strong.

Cattle are mainly out wintered on chalk pads and are fed solely on forage - grass and ucerne, no grain is fed at all.  This system means our meat can be sold under the PFLA banner.  Steers are kept to around 30 months then taken to a local slaughter house and carcasses are then sold to either a butcher in London who supplies high end restaurants and hotels, or to a local farm shop and a local butcher. We also sell directly from the farm where we have a monthly pop up shop.
 
Until the last few years all heifers have been retained for breeding but last year 24 have been sold on for breeding with more to be sold this year.
 
Cattle graze extensively on the slopes of the North Downs where some reseeding to herb and legume swards has taken place

We look forward to welcoming Society members later in the summer!