The Sacombe herd was founded in 1970, by Paul and his parents, and is the oldest herd within the UK herd book. Between 1970 and 1995, 23 females were imported from Switzerland, Austria, Germany and France.

The farm comprises of four units totalling 950 acres, of which 300 acres are used for the cattle and 650 for the arable enterprise. All stock are reared very commercially and a breeding policy has been designed very much to suit our farm. Our average rainfall is only 21 inches so grass growth is a luxury! Consequently we require bred flesh not fed flesh and we strive for cows of medium size, high fertility, good locomotion and conformation with excellent longevity and docility.

Genetics are very important to us, and we strive to maintain our genetic diversity by always trying new frontiers. Our cow families have always been a priority of the herd and currently we have 18 different families.

Over the years we have had the privilege of using some of the very best sires within the breed in our herd and we have included a photo gallery of some of our favourites for your perusal.

With the introduction of the single farm payment era we have decided to increase our breeding herd and to take on a more direct role in marketing our product to the public. The herd now supplies all the beef to Bridget b's traditional beef range.

Showing is done in moderation and while we have had great successes at many major shows over the last 35 years, we are careful with our breeding policy that it is dominated by commercial attributes that suit our farm and most importantly our buyers.

The herd has been performance recorded since 1970 and detailed records are kept for the herd. We welcome the introduction of the abri performance recording system in the UK and hope that worldwide genetic evaluation will become commonplace.

We are enthusiastic for the new DNA technology now available for eating quality attributes and are pleased to be helping Merial with their trials for igenity. To date we have already tested some 50 animals and look forward to the results.

Recently a herd of belted Galloway's and some select Limousin females have been established on the farm to compliment the attributes of the Simmental herd and offer our customers more choice.

The herd currently numbers 150 cows plus 200 followers. I hope you enjoy your visit and please feel free to come again.

Bridget Borlase