Farming Today - Farming Today This Week

We're farming fewer breeds than ever before, to feed our desire for consistent cuts of meat. Ninety per cent of dairy cows are Holsteins, 90 per cent of pig sows are Landrace, and 70 per cent of our beef comes from Limosin cattle. Last century, the UK lost 26 native breeds of livestock, as farmers concentrated on the most productive lines. Charlotte Smith visits a research farm in Oxfordshire to find out how these breeds have come to dominate, and what makes them stand out from the crowd.