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Northfield Farm straddles the Rutland/Leicestershire border midway between Oakham and Melton Mowbray.  When the McCourt family first moved here in 1994 members of the more conventional farming fraternity observed our herd of small Dexter Cattle with some amusement. Unlike herds more commonly used in beef farming, the Dexter is a small, short-legged cow of ancient origin, believed originally to have come from Ireland, as do the McCourts. The similarity ends there as McCourts tend to be slim, tall and bear little resemblance to a bovine. Thrifty in consumption, Dexters produce prodigious quantities of creamy milk and truly succulent beef. The Dexter also happens to be one of the very few breeds never to have had BSE. We gave cuts away to as many people as we could from the first steer we killed by way of a marketing exercise. We sat back and waited nervously for the verdict...the applause was deafening!

Legend has it that King John "Knighted" the roast loin of a White Park to create "Sir Loin". We have a couple of Highland Cows & we use a home bred Native Angus bull (Valentine Perseus, or Percy to his friends) who, apart from being incredibly handsome, produces some of the best beef in existence.The concept of consuming rare breed meat appears strange to the uninitiated. The majority of those breeds, which have become rare or 'traditional' are the old farm animals, which were developed by our predecessors for their eating qualities. This process of development was a gentle balance between old-fashioned husbandry and the advances of science. Since the last war, however, this balance has been destroyed. Achieving the lowest cost for the least effort in the quickest time became the sole preoccupation of most modern livestock production.

Many of the food crises we have suffered over the last few years have been the direct consequence of this misguided policy of quantity, speed and quick profit over quality. The old fashioned breeds are not cheap to produce, nor are they particularly efficient as they take time to mature but the quality of meat is unrivalled. Many of you will have seen examples of these breeds on BBC' Countryfile under the stewardship of Adam Henson and his father Joe. Thanks originally to the efforts of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and the support of the countless smallholders and their supporters, the core of our declining agricultural and culinary heritage has been saved.