Irish Moiled Cattle
The Irish Moiled is a very ancient breed of cattle. Always polled (non-horned) and red and white in colour, their markings vary from individual to individual, whilst their classic frame makes them the cattle of traditional landscape paintings - or so we, deluded enthusiasts, like to think ... !
A traditional, dual purpose breed, the 'Moiley' was valued by small family farms in Ireland for its prolific milk production and excellent beef from marginal grazings. For us that means low maintenance cattle who rear trouble-free calves and yield a prize-winning beef from the simplest of diets - traditional pasture - whilst their gentle grazing habits and thrifty natures are ideally suited to sustainable, agri-environmental productivity. In a food/farming culture which values quantity and pace of production so much more highly than quality, the breed's strengths as an all-rounder have proven its downfall. It is one of the rarest cattle, numbering some 300 today - a significant improvement on the 12 remaining in the 1970's.
The Moiley's contribution to Ystrad is unarguable. Our challenge is to reciprocate - by doing what we can to champion the breed, do our best by its produce and help secure the future it both earns and deserves.
