Matt Britton first came across Albions at the Kent County Show in 2018 where he was exhibiting Traditional Herefords for the Boreside herd he manages. A blue roan cow caught his eye and it turned out to be from Susannah Mannering’s Spreckles herd.

Matt says: “After some research, I fell in love with the breed and a couple of years later, I was in a position to start my own herd. Since 2005 I had been building up my herd of Beef Shorthorns and, Shorthorns and Albions being very similar in their traits, it seemed an obvious and interesting combination to run the Lomas Beef Shorthorns and Plumtree Albion herds alongside each other.”

Looking to the future, Matt believes that the changes that will happen in British agriculture over coming years will offer a real opportunity for the breed. He says: “What I think is a real opportunity for the Albion’s future is the changes that we are already seeing and will see in British agriculture over the next few years. The introduction of ELMs will put more emphasis on protecting rare breeds and there is a strengthening demand from the consumer for sustainable locally sourced food that has already seen an increase in artisan food production like micro dairies. With the Albion’s ability as a hardy natural grazer to produce milk and beef in a sustainable system and with the knowledge we now have of genetics and advances in technology, we can meet that demand and protect the environment with a breed like the Albion. The interest that’s been shown in the short time I’ve owned just a few Albions makes me optimistic for the future.”