Welcome to the Hawkley Herd in 2024

Welcome to the website of Berry Grove Farm, a 300 acre mixed farm in Hampshire, and home of the Whitcombe family. Bought by the family in 1964 it was for many years home to an Ayrshire dairy herd, and a well known flock of Suffolk sheep. In 1990 since the farm was divided by construction of the A3 road, we have farmed here and have established pedigree herds of South Devon and Red Angus cattle, and continued a family pedigree flock of Border Leicester sheep, which was established in 1942. We manage the farm ourselves, with part time help; the livestock being our main source of income.

We now concentrate on our herd of Pedigree Red Angus Cattle due to the ever increasing interest in the low input Aberdeen Angus and Red Angus in particular.

We have had great enjoyment, satisfaction and some success with our South Devons. However, we decided reluctantly to sell the herd in 2018. Hawkley South Devon genetics will still be available through Genus - who bought Hawkley Poll Inquest and Hawkley SAS Intrepid, and through Cogent - who bought Hawkley SAS Javelin.

Breeding and Selection Policy

Our objective is to produce livestock that we can sell with confidence for breeding. We select for easy birth, high performance and fertility, and we focus on the strong maternal traits which Red Angus are known for. Animals are grown on a mainly forage diet, and performance recorded. The cattle are recorded with ABRI Breedplan

Selection for breeding depends not only on good records, but also family history, visual appraisal and temperament. Unassisted calving and lambing is a prerequisite for a breeding animal.

Health

We maintain a high health status, and benefit from being in an area of the country with a low cattle population and a low incidence of TB. In order to give confidence to customers who buy stock from us, we joined Biobest Herdcare in 2006, and have been accredited since 2008 free of BVD and Johnes.

Sales

Stock for sale privately off the farm. Access to the farm is easy, off the A3 near Petersfield, 30 miles south of the M25. Delivery can be arranged anywhere. Visitors are always welcome.

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