22 July 2014

3 minute read

Europe

The Open Day will provide an opportunity for the public to join food, farming, and forestry industry representatives to find out more about what’s so special about a breed of cattle that is now being seen on Cumbria’s farms and appearing on the menus of its finest restaurants.

The event will highlight the high quality and superior taste of beef sourced from the Luings.

Foodies will be in for a treat as Higginsons Butchers of Grange and More? The Artisan Bakery will be providing mouth-watering tasting opportunities.

The Luings have demonstrated many valuable benefits to our farm and to our landscape - Farm Manager, Alec Smith

Chef, Ryan Blackburn, from the award-winning Old Stamp House restaurant in Ambleside will also be at the event to run cookery demonstrations for visitors using the locally sourced beef.

The Luing Cattle Society’s Open Day is intended to be an enjoyable, educational experience for members of the general public, with the chance to see the Luing herd grazing the farm, join guided walks to discover the farm’s special wildlife, find out how the cattle are helping to improve the natural environment and enjoy plenty of other activities throughout the afternoon.

These hardy cattle hail from the Scottish island of Luing and were first bred there in the 1940s. The cattle brought together the qualities of a Beef Shorthorn and the hardiness of a Scottish Highlander and the Luings were soon prized by farmers in Scotland for their hardiness, easy handling and commercial viability.

And now Lakes farmers are catching on and realising that stocking the breed can bring commercial and conservation benefits.

Over thirty local businesses are supporting the event and on the showfield there will be a wide range of activities including: tractor pulling, stock judging, animal portraits from local artists, Coniston Hounds, stick & crook making, kids area and much more.

High House Farm Manager, Alec Smith said: “We have worked hard over the last ten years to establish a pedigree herd of Luing cattle at High House Farm. The Luings have demonstrated many valuable benefits to our farm and to our landscape and we are thrilled to be able to host the Luing Cattle Society’s prestigious open day at High House Farm in 2014.

“The event will be a fantastic opportunity to show that Luing beef is not only an environmentally responsible breed of cow that thrives on a low-input farm system but also offers excellent commercial potential for farmers because it produces a very high quality beef.

“With the top-quality catering and chef demos on the day, this is going to be a treat for foodies and the first ever public showcase of Luing beef, as a quality brand, rather than just a generic beef product.”

The Luing Cattle Society’s Open Day 2014 is on the afternoon of Friday 1 August (12-5pm) at High House Farm, Winster, Cumbria and is free to attend. Anyone who would like to go along is invited to register their interest in attending at www.winsterluings.tumblr.com/openday 2014 or come along on the day.

The event is being supported by Natural England’s Cumbria team, who hope that more farmers will also come to appreciate the environmental benefits that grazing Luings can bring.

Working with experts from Butterfly Conservation, Natural England has found that Luing cattle to be among the best of the traditional cattle breeds at achieving benefits for the natural environment when used for conservation grazing as part of Agri-Environment schemes in Cumbria.

The event takes place at High House Farm, Winster on Friday 1st August, from 12-5pm

TheCattleSite News Desk