Pedigree Gloucester Cattle to Fuel Gloucester Rugby First Team Squad

The future of the country’s rarest cattle breed has been assured thanks to its namesake, Gloucester Rugby.

Today, at the Three Counties Show, it is announced that Pedigree Gloucester Beef, which has been slowly reared and fattened to a unique creed over the last 18 months, is now to provide a sustainable supply to meet all the beef requirements of the entire Gloucester Rugby squad from July, when they return to training camp at Hartpury College.

Mike Turner, Commercial Manager at Gloucester Rugby, explains:

“Gloucester is about passion and about winning. It begins by feeding our players with the very best food available. This is just the start of a plan to work ever more closely with our local rural communities.”

Gloucester’s new Performance Chef, Will Carvalho, adds:

“Traceability is paramount to our squad diets. I see slow reared pasture fed beef as a critical element of this. It is so difficult to source meat with confidence of provenance, and these farmers are providing it – and on our doorstep! Finally – someone is listening to us!”

Gloucestershire farmers, Clifford Freeman and Matthew Rymer, set up Gloucester Beef Limited to strive to create the country’s finest beef from privately breeding, farming, slaughtering, hanging and butchering the country’s rarest cattle - The Pedigree Gloucester, and providing total traceability.

By controlling the whole life cycle from birth to plate, they are dedicated to supplying the most tender, tastiest and nutritious beef with the confidence each animal has enjoyed the best possible life. Every cut from every animal is supported by total traceability.

Gloucester Born Beef Creed

100% Pasture Fed

The cattle graze to low stocking levels on permanent conservation grade pasture.

No cereals or additives are used. The pasture fed beef is better for human health than grain-fed beef in ten different ways:

• Lower in total fat

• Lower total and saturated fat content

• Higher in total omega-3 fatty acids (good fats)

• A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids

• Higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a potential cancer fighter

• Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be turned into CLA)

• Higher in vitamin E

• Higher in B vitamins

• Higher in beta-carotene

• Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium

Local Slaughter

The cattle will never travel more than 30 minutes to abattoir, and only ever in exclusive transport, reducing unnecessary stress.

Locally Farmed

The cattle are born within Gloucestershire and raised within ten miles of Gloucester’s River Severn, The Gloucester’s natural home.

Sustainably Farmed

Low carbon footprint farming is practiced, slowly fattening animals exclusively on natural fresh unfertilised grass and grass silage in winter.

Controlled Hanging Process

All animals are privately hung for at least 28 days to our own strict specification.

Butchered To Customer Specification

All carcasses are expertly and locally butchered to customer specification.

Total Traceability and Provenance

Every item of meat is provided a unique traceability code to provide total transparency of the life cycle of the animal and its meat.

This scheme, called Happerley, has been devised by Gloucester Born Beef Limited’s Directors, farmers Clifford Freeman and Matthew Rymer, and is now set to roll out nationally later in 2015 for all meat producers.