Having identified that there was just one remaining UK Original Population Hereford female descendant of the Maria line in 2022, Herefordshire-based Herouldmede herd owners Susie Woods and Willem van Beele have since set about beginning the repopulation of this family, alongside their already methodical approach to maintaining a number of other female families of the breed, to ensure that these vitally important grass-based genetics are maintained well into the future.
The Herouldmede herd consists of 22 females plus followers, finishing any surplus stock through to slaughter, with select heifers either retained or sold for breeding. When it comes to finding their next stock bulls, Willem and Susie spend plenty of time researching what will complement their herd: “We buy a new bull every three to four years,” says Willem, “and we spend a lot of time looking at what is available that might represent some unusual bloodlines. In the past we have often succeeded in this by finding a bull by an older AI sire, which therefore has a less common pedigree for today.”
Explaining the couple’s first foray into Hereford cattle whilst farming in Buckinghamshire back in 2009, Willem continues: “The farm I ran was an arable farm where the wife of the owner wanted some cattle to go on a particular patch of ground, and after looking at various breeds she bought two in-calf Traditional Hereford females from the Whybrow’s Cardington Herd. One Gaymaid and one Dowager changed hands and ended up on the farm, but after a few years of little success with AI the animals were to be disposed of, so I asked Susie if we should buy the cattle for ourselves and she agreed! We found some land and a shed to rent, and Dowager and Gaymaid were joined by Ruby and Venus. Then the search was on for a bull, so off we went to Albany Farm and Albany Sebastian joined our small herd. We quietly grew, but with a few setbacks along the way when renting we decided that the only way we could grow the herd was to have our own farm and be on site, especially for peace of mind at calving time.
“In 2015 we moved lock, stock and barrel to Herefordshire, the Ghorst was to be our new abode, complete with a few good-sized sheds for us to grow into. The farm itself is only 50 acres but we have managed to rent a further 70, most of it bordering our land and we make all of our own hay that feeds the stock through winter. Straw comes from a neighbouring farm in return for the muck, and our soil is clay-based, so with the amount of rain we get in Herefordshire this usually means that the stock are brought in mid-November, and let out to grass again around mid-April.
“We try to keep at least two females from each of the lines represented on the farm: Gaymaid, Ruby, Venus, Amorous, Julia, Sylvia, Caroline and Maria, which is sometimes difficult when individuals can keep throwing only bulls! We are particularly pleased with our Caroline and Amorous genetics as they seem to suit our style, the Caroline family having been very successful here at the Ghorst allowing us to sell various females all over the country and increase the overall numbers in this bloodline.
“We went on a Hereford herd tour in Montana in 2023 – something that we had been looking forward to since 2020 – and saw 12 herds in three days. For us as UK-based Hereford breeders, it really was an eye-opener for seeing the impressive scale of operations in the USA on such a vast acreage.”
As the Census Officer for the Traditional Hereford Breeders’ Club, Willem conducts a yearly assessment of Original Population Hereford data to ascertain how many live pedigree registered animals are residing in registering herds, as well as a breakdown of how many direct female descendants of each original family are in existence. This analysis has allowed the Club to identify families which are at current risk of extinction amongst the UK population, with further data provided from overseas adding to the picture by distinguishing that some of the rarest lines in the UK also still exist elsewhere, plus representatives from some families which no longer exist in the UK at all. This information is important from both a genetic standpoint and when it comes to the implications of potential disease outbreaks.
Willem says: “In 2022, we identified that the last of the Maria family was residing in a Hereford herd in Wales, and with the help of communications via Powys Hereford Breeders’ Club Secretary Glenn Pritchard, we managed to purchase the cow and add this line to our herd. She was a regular breeder and was safely in-calf (this time with a bull calf of course) and once calved down, with the help of the Traditional Hereford Breeders’ Club we started an Ovum Pick Up (OPU) programme to produce embryos.”
Though the first two rounds of OPU have been a long and frustrating process – with plenty of ova produced but less than a handful of resulting embryos, plus a TB breakdown thrown into the mix – another collection is underway, this time using semen from the 1969-born Crown Robert 2nd which has been stress tested and approved for use in the project. Looking forward to the future, Willem says: “We will hopefully soon get at least one Traditional-bred female from Maria and try to help secure this female line for the future as she is a good, strong cow, and well worth preserving.”
Learn more about the Herouldmede herd on their website herouldmedeherefords.co.uk, or keep up to date with the herd by following them on Facebook!
Learn more about the Original Population Hereford female families by clicking here.
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