TWO Eden beef farmers are celebrating an industry accolade for their grass-fed Aberdeen Angus cattle.

The award for the most improved herd of Aberdeen Angus in England 2014 was presented to Bryan Ronan and his partner Carole Stephens, who run the 280-acre Jerusalem Farm at Colby, near Appleby.

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The accolade was presented by EBLEX, the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry.

“Essentially the award was a recognition that our herd was the most genetically improved in the whole of the Aberdeen Angus breed, so it’s reasonably significant,” said Mr Ronan, who bought the farm 20 years ago.

“Over the course of the last five or ten years now, there’s been increased emphasis in breeding pedigree stock, not just Aberdeen Angus but all pedigree breeds. A lot of work has been done on DNA profiling and performance recording.

“If you go back 20 years, people used to make decisions on buying bulls based on what they saw. Now it’s not only what you see but also the genetic qualities of the animal in terms of its capability to produce good-quality meat or milk or growth or maternal characteristics. It’s been a huge process in places like the US and Australia and it’s really starting to pick up in the UK and Europe.”

Prized for its marbled, succulent meat, Aberdeen Angus is one of the world’s best-known cattle breeds.

It is renowned for its quiet temperament and ease of handling at calving time, and the superior flavour of its meat makes it a favourite on top restaurant menus.

“It’s just the taste and the tenderness,” said Mr Ronan, explaining that Aberdeen Angus’s reputation is partly due to the fact it is grass-fed, requiring very little artificial feed.

“Most retailers will use 100 per cent of the carcass in different cuts and joints,” said Mr Ronan, adding: “You can’t beat ribs of beef.”

Breeding has become increasingly precise and scientific, with details of each animal regularly updated on a computer database to establish which are potentially better for breeding.

Mr Ronan described the performance recording system as an additional tool for the farmer, and one that is becoming increasingly important.

The Jerusalem herd’s stock bull, Eric, was purchased from the Rawburn herd in the Borders for an undisclosed sum, and Mr Ronan explained: “He’s been instrumental in the genetic improvement we’ve achieved over the last few years. We knew where we were and where we wanted to be, and we needed to find a bull that would take us on that journey. He’s a lovely bull.”

The Jerusalem herd is marketed through the show ring and is also shown regularly, with championships won at The Royal, Great Yorkshire, Royal Welsh, and the Aberdeen Angus Winter National at Agri Expo.