It is the month of Veganuary and on the one hand I applaud and respect vegans for raising the awareness of the damages caused by mass food production, on the other I feel proud to be a part of a team that rears and butchers beef and lamb.

Over the last thirty years, studies have shown that grass-fed beef is far better for the animals, environment, and peoples’ health in comparison to grain-fed.

We have a love and respect for our animals and aim to allow them to live in a way that is as natural to them as possible. For us, it doesn’t feel right to take away their horns by disbudding at birth or genetically breeding the horns out of them.

The hedgerows are bursting with May, the first bluebell has been spotted and the tips of the trees are a pale green and are about to burst into full leaf.

Spring is already in the air. This is when we see the first newborn lambs and Michael and I are filled with joy. We smile, look at each other and say, “We made it through the winter!”

It started 20 years ago when I was first working on a biodynamic farm in Sussex called Plaw Hatch. I needed to find a butcher to help prepare the first animal they had reared for beef.

Also known as the short-rib, the Jacob’s Ladder comes from the flank of the fore-quarter on the beef carcass. This affordable cut was once the butcher’s best kept secret because of its incredibly tender, melt-in-your-mouth quality.

As we begin the new year, I want to share with everyone who has supported Jacob’s Ladder what 2020 was like for us, as farmers, and what we hope for during the year ahead.