Glengorm Highland Cattle

Scotland is blessed with its fair share of the world’s best produce when it comes to natural heritage foods indigenous to our climate. We benefit, by enlarge, from steady rainfall and reasonable sunshine, the Gulf Stream and maritime breezes. Sure we have midges and haar but who has beef, lamb, shellfish, berries and game like us? Our dairy farmers are diversifying into high quality ice creams, cheeses and yoghurts and we have Scottish heritage grains grown commercially for the first time in over a century! Indeed over fifty Scottish foods have been officially recognised as among the world’s valued heritage foods on Slow Food’s International website. With such fabulous and intrinsically Scottish foods, past, present and future, this regular feature will focus on Scotland’s natural bounty and the folk who have used their ingenuity, passion and business acumen to use the produce in their own imitable ways.

All Roads Lead to Mull By Wendy Barrie Scottish Thistle Award Regional Ambassador (2018/19) for Central, Tayside & Fife Director of Scottish Food Guide

It would be a challenge to fnd a stronger image to portray Scotland than that of Highland cattle - unless of course there was a kilted lad or lassie in the photo too! Whether golden-haired or black, blonde or brindle the fowing locks of Highland cattle are stunning and come to think of it I have rarely seen a mucky coo! They seem to have the ability to keep their coats in good order! Their horns give them a don’t mess with me air however if handled from early years they can be passive and gentle. It is important for animals to be familiar with the farmer and also given the opportunity to follow their natural behavioural instincts such as hanging out in their family groups. Highlanders would have once been the traditional house cow across north-west Scotland and as such be dual purpose (before the term existed). Possessing ancient genes, the bloodline of Highland cattle – and indeed Kerry - can be traced back to Auroch bones dating from over six thousand years ago. A few years back, we tested the milk quality of Highlanders and found it to be of an exceptionally high standard, particularly for making ice cream, cultured dairy products and fresh cheese. Its profle was less suited to maturing hard clothbound cheeses but I am sure that would not stop a cheesemaker making a fne truckle. Something to think about.

In a world where meat production in general and cows in particular receive undeserved negative press, Scotland is blessed with pasture, heath, hill and meadow where ruminants can graze freely in sustainable numbers, giving more back to mother earth than they take away. When researching cattle with my Leader–for-Scotland’s-Ark-ofTaste hat on I contacted many folk with knowledge of Highlanders and all roads led back to Tom Nelson and the Glengorm Fold on Mull where records exist of Highland cattle at Glengorm Castle, hefted on the hills, for over one hundred and seventy years.

Tom was born and raised at Glengorm. His parents bought the estate in 1969. They had been looking for a hill farm to purchase and were invited up to view the fve thousand acres on the northern tip of Mull. Shrouded in mist and typical west coast weather, his Mum was initially unconvinced but awaking next morning to brilliant sunshine on a perfect Scottish day she was instantly won over and the rest is history! The farm was exactly what they wished for, and the castle an intriguing incidental extra! These days it provides valuable income as B&B and self-catering holiday accommodation in addition to still being their family home.

On graduating from agricultural college, Tom went travelling, returning to run the estate in 2000, making it home for his wife and family. The heather hills and the good in-by grass provide the perfect environment for their Blackface and Cheviot-cross ewes along with sixty pedigree Highland cows. They are excellent mothers and easily handled, rarely needing an ounce of help in calving. Tom’s fold is predominantly red with a few brindles because he likes it that way. Using this low input extensive farming system, the right breed in the right place, they live off the land, growing slowly, maturing and developing a terroir in favour. The in-by gives good summer grazing, leaving the rougher hill grazing for winter where they happily graze without poaching the land. All the bullocks are kept on until four years old, the fne marbling only developing in adulthood, after which they are either sold for breeding or killed at the local abattoir on Mull where they also butcher it. Small abattoirs are so vital for sustainable ethical food production where the animals are not subjected to undue stress and discomfort in lengthy transportation. Their meat is then sold at Tobermory farmers’ market, home delivery, retail, Glengorm’s coffee shop and to local restaurants. Whether it be pies or sausages, burgers or BBQ’s, casseroles, steak or roasts, Highland meat is rich, dark and favoursome with a light gamey fnish and tastes superb. So impressive in fact that Franck Ribière features the Glengorm Fold, along with Hardiesmill Native Bred Aberdeen Angus in the Scottish Borders, in his movie Steak (R) evolution. Scotland certainly has unique beef to be proud of, which is why both of these are also on Slow Food’s International Ark of Taste. Like us, Tom reckons the cheaper cuts are so often undervalued and he enjoys nothing better than a potroasted brisket or beef cheeks. Both he and his wife Marjorie enjoy cooking and have brought up their children to appreciate their farm produce too.

At the Royal Highland Show, we always make a point of visiting the Highland Hall to marvel at the cattle, admire their rosettes and see if we recognise any of the winners’ names. It is sheer joy to see the traditional breeds, including the Highlanders, often with the most loveable calves at their side. Their heritage and history is almost tangible: to think of the drovers bringing the many thousands of cattle down from the hills over the centuries.

Highland cattle are also revered in Scandinavia where I have seen them roam the hills in Norway and Sweden. Indeed one year at the Highland Show I recall the lovely Mike Gibson enthusiastically telling Bosse and me that if you were to draw a line from Stockholm on the east to Gothenburg on the west coast, there would not be a Highlander in

Sweden south of that line that did not possess Edinvale Farm genes! Such was their popularity in the 1980’s and 90’s, Jock, his son, remembers Swedish characters visiting their home, checking out their fold - and Mike’s single malts! We often think of Mike when we see highlanders grazing in Småland or Skåne. He is sadly missed however Jock and his family are following in his footsteps, farming Edinvale and running Macbeths Butcher and Game Dealer. He too rears fabulous Highlanders alongside highlandshorthorn and is once again building up the pure bred fold.

For further information on both these family enterprises… http://glengormcastle.co.uk https://www.macbeths.com