| Livestock
Englefield Estate’s herd manager Terry Perkins on
what it takes to rear an award-winning herd year
after year
Since Englefield Estate’s herd
manager, Terry Perkins retired from
dairy farming eight years ago to rear
the Estate’s pedigree Hereford cattle
herd, he’s never come away from a
show without a rosette. As show
season gets under way again, he
speaks to Fran McElhone about what
it takes to rear such a spectacular
group.
ithin months of establishing
Englefield Estate’s inaugural
herd of Hereford beef cattle in
2009, herd manager Terry
Perkins became a force to be
reckoned with on the show
circuit; his first show saw his first bull win first in
his class.
Now 73, Terry has spent his life dedicated to
farming; his childhood years were spent
helping out his dairy farmer father, and in 1970,
a 26-year-old Terry became the herd manager
at Mayridge Farm within the Englefield Estate,
which has been owned by the Benyon family
since the 16th century.
In 2008, a plea from the boss to stay on and
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32 | Farming Monthly | August 2017
establish a herd of Herefords, proved an
irresistible proposition for the man who’s calling
in life, and passion for farming were far stronger
than his need for a lie in.
Terry travelled all over the country to find his
prime animals to form the foundation of the
herd, surveying 13 herds in two days. In early
2009 he brought together 35 Herefords,
including his first bull called Exterminator, who
come autumn, had made his show debut and
won champion in his class. Terry’s never come
away empty handed ever since.
“Years ago, I used to show dairy cows so I
thought I knew what I was looking for,” he says.
“But it was a completely new project, dairy is
completely different, you almost have to start all
over again,” he explains. “But a very good
friend of mine who reared Herefords explained
to me what I should be looking for, and I
seemed to have picked the right ones. The only
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