The Lonsdale Highlands

About us

We are Gavin and Becks Lonsdale, raising a small fold of gorgeous Highland cows near Garrowby Hill, in Yorkshire. Highlands are a particularly gentle breed who are not fussy eaters and thrive living outside all year round. They grow slowly and have the most natural, happy life we can give them. We first bought two cows with calves at foot in 2020 and the fold has grown from there!

Regenerative and nutrient-dense

Microbial life in the soil is the foundation of the food chain, with vast underground networks working to supply plants with trace elements and minerals that simply are not available otherwise. This active soil ecosystem produces robust, nutrient-dense plants, which feed healthy, happy animals... which in their turn produce particularly good beef. (Human tastebuds have evolved to identify and enjoy nutrient-dense food in particular.)

Our attitude to farming is based around creating the best environment for these beneficial soil microbes to thrive, and the rest - healthy animals, excellent tasting beef etc - will look after itself! We want our landscape to be resilient, natural and biodiverse, with our soils buzzing with life and the whole ecosystem thriving - this is what we mean by "regenerative."

Omega-balance

A lifestyle on varied pasture is part of the innate biology of cows. "Living their best life" involves pondering what to nibble next based on what is going on in their (incredibly biologically active) rumen. It is important to us that we raise our cows outside so they can do this all year round, and - importantly - without fattening them on grain, which radically alters the biology in their rumen with knock-on effects.

For example, Omega 6 and Omega 3 fats are key to photosynthesis and enter the food chain via leafy, living plants. Inflammation initiated by Omega 6 fats is important for fixing the human body (when needed) but you want it to be focused and to ramp down once the job is done, which is the function of the Omega 3 fats. Therefore balance of these that you obtain from your diet is critical.

The Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio found in 100% pasture-fed cattle is roughly 4:1 (compared to around 10:1 for grain-fed cattle)... meaning the diet of the cows has a direct, measurable impact on the healthiness of the beef.

Luckily an outdoor, 100% pasture-fed life is also how our Highlands are happiest!