The Greenwell Herd

Galloway cattle have always been kept at Greenwell. They are now and have always been the perfect beast to graze the commons of Dartmoor and convert that rough diverse grazing into beef. The smaller compact cow thrives in these uplands of the south west as well as they do further north. My parents Arnold and Bridget Cole built up the herd which grazed the commons alongside a herd of South Devons which grazed the better valley meadows. There were also flocks of Scotch Blackface sheep and whiteface Dartmoor ewes on the farm which sits on the south west corner of Dartmoor.

As the farm grew, so did our stock numbers and as most farms have, as the pressure to keep cattle indoors increased we crossed the Galloway with a South Devon and kept them as a commercial cow which is still to this day a very good robust suckler cow which retains the best traits from both breeds. We have crossed them with a Limousin, Simmental or Charolais as a terminal generation, but the temperament was always and issue! We have used the South Devon but have now settled with a Hereford. They are very distinct and make great cattle off grass and it is a lot easier when you are picking them out, visually and temperament!

Sons Neil and Myself (Mathew) joined the family business in the early 90s and the farm continued to grow and evolve until this day. The biggest move for us was the acquisition of the Old Prison farm at Princetown on a long term tenancy which gave us the scope to expand to a level which allowed both Neil and I to have our own farms to run day to day but still make use of sharing resources, staff and council. Sadly, our father Arnold passed several years back and Mum still gets involved from the side-lines. But the framework of breeds has stood the test of time and is still here today.

We are running over 130 pedigree Galloway cows which all graze the commons or our newtake rough land. We also keep a herd of Pedigree Belted Galloways which graze two commons with busier roads around Greenwell. They are kept in the same way as our Galloways they just carry high vis! We then have a commercial herd of South Devon cross Galloways at the Prison farm making use of the better marginal grazing and we still have a small herd of Pedigree South Devons which we breed a few crossing bulls from. 

We were initially driven to register our cows due environmental scheme incentives and the high risk of TB and associated higher values for registered animals. Once we were in the system, we have enjoyed studying the breeding and will keep the registration going. I think we have had a registered Galloway herd for nearly 20 years and numbers continue to grow. 20 young heifers already registered and probably another 20 from the Autumn calvers being marked now.

Neil and his wife Anna have two daughters and live at Pewtor Farm near Tavistock. His passion is his stock and more so his sheep. He is heavily invested in the stratified sheep system and from the Prison Farm we breed as many as 400 mule ewe lambs annually out of north of England Scotch and Swale type ewes. He was a founder member of the South west Mule group and sits on the South West NSA committee. Breeds crossing type Bluefaced Leicester and Scotch and Swale rams (see photo of Neil with daughter Ida). He is also a very keen Dartmoor hill pony keeper with about 40 mares grazing the commons. 

My wife Gemma and I have two young boys (photo at Devon county show) and live at Greenwell near Yelverton.  I have been involved with Dartmoor Farmers Association since its inception fifteen years ago and manage the relationship with Morrisons supplying Dartmoor Lamb to stores across the south of England. I also fatten the cattle at Greenwell for Dartmoor Farmers supplying Beef to local retailer and wholesaler Goosemoor. I am also a keen whiteface Dartmoor breeder and sit on the inspection panel for the breed.

We have found that with the dark cloud of TB breakdowns, which we have lived with for the past 20 years, we were better protected if we fattened our own bred cattle. Dartmoor farmers have allowed us to do that and add value to cattle which would normally be less desirable in the store ring. As we get better at fattening cattle and efficiency pressures increase, we are moving further towards the pure Galloway cow. She is cheaper to keep through the winter, does the environmental work through the prolonged south west Dartmoor grazing season and with the right encouragement through better management of younger animals will produce a fabulous carcass below the 30 month threshold.

We are in very uncertain times and the suckler cow seems to have a target on her back! Galloway cattle are uniquely placed to utilise rough marginal grazing into some of the finest beef you will find. Delivering a very saleable product with the advantage of environmental delivery in spades! These cattle shaped this landscape and they thrive here because they belong here! Good luck!

Mathew Cole