Red Polls, Cows, and Calves: A Journey Back to Farming’s Roots

Most people wouldn’t build a dairy around a rare native breed.Most people wouldn’t build a dairy at all.

Five years ago, I took a few fields back in hand from my family’s farm - land that had been rented out since 2005, when my father stopped milking cows. With a small handful of animals and not much of a plan, I started something that’s become the centre of my life.

Pentrefelin Dairy wasn’t a business strategy. It was a response - to the kind of farming I didn’t want to do, and the kind of food system I didn’t want to be part of.

Today, we’re still small, but things work. The cows are calm. The milk is good. And the land is starting to give back.

Why cows

I didn’t come into this with a textbook plan or a tidy definition of what “regenerative” should look like. But I knew I wanted to farm in a way that made sense - ecologically, financially, and practically.

Before I started the micro dairy here, I’d spent 13 years working on a farm down the road - milking cows, doing general farm work, learning how a farm ticks. It was a very different kind of setup to what I do now, but it’s where I caught the bug for milking. And it’s where I learned most of the skills I still rely on today.

That daily rhythm of milking - even just once a day - has a way of grounding you. It forces you to pay attention. To animals, to grass, to weather. It gave structure to the early days of this place and shaped how things have grown.

There were still plenty of mistakes when I started on my own. But the years spent learning on someone else’s farm gave me a foundation. Without that, I don’t think I’d be doing what I’m doing now.

Why Red Polls

At first, I thought I’d go with Jerseys. They’re well known in small dairying circles, and I liked the idea of rich milk and smaller cows.

But one day, my dad came back from a job for a farm in Malpas - Chorlton Lane, run by a lady called Helen Arthan. He told me I needed to go see her cows. “They’re more the shape you’re after,” he said. “Like the old square ones you see in the really old photos.”

A few days later, I went to see them for myself. Red Polls.

They were stood in a field full of grass - dark red against the green - and they immediately stood out. They looked like proper beef animals, deep-bodied and wide-backed, but with the udders of a true dairy cow.

What really got me was their calmness. They moved slowly, with purpose. There was nothing frantic about them. They looked like they belonged - cows that fit their environment, rather than being pushed to perform in it.

They were all chewing their cud, and I could tell they were happy cows - belonging in grass up to their knees, chewing as if they were still stood in a field in the 1920s.

I remember feeling genuinely excited. Like I’d stumbled on something completely new. Of course, I hadn’t. They’re an old breed - dual purpose, hardy, once common across mixed farms in Britain.

That’s what most farms relied on before everything split into specialisms. It felt like a link back to the kind of farming we’ve drifted away from - where resilience mattered more than scale, and versatility was a strength, not a compromise.

A cow that can raise a solid calf and still give you good milk. That’s what made sense to me then - and it still does now.

The Milk - Unexpected Qualities and Rewards

Red Poll milk is different from what many expect. Compared to breeds like Jerseys, their milk is much paler - almost a pure white. This is because Red Polls produce milk with a slightly different fat composition, which means you won’t see the thick cream line typical of richer breeds.

When I first started milking, I was worried the milk wasn’t “good enough.” But soon I realised the cows weren’t letting down their milk properly in the parlour. Their strong mothering instinct meant they were holding back the best milk for their calves.

The key to getting the cows to relax and fully release their milk? The calf. In a cow and calf system, the calf isn’t just “in the way” or a drain on production - it’s the tool that helps the whole process work. The cow is always calm and trusting when her calf is near, and she’ll do pretty much anything for her calf.It’s easy, especially if you’ve come from a conventional dairy background like I had, to dive in and try to milk them all at once - get them in and out of the parlour quickly, keep things efficient. But with a cow and calf system, you’ve got to slow everything down a few gears. Patience and respect for the cow must come first, or it just doesn’t work.

Once I learned to use the calf as part of the milking routine, the cows relaxed completely, and the milk flowed as it should. The reward was milk that was pure, full-fat, and fresh - just like the milk we used to drink as kids straight from the bulk tank.

A couple of the cows made sure I earned my keep with a fair share of kicks along the way.

That milk carries the story of the breed and the farming system behind it. It’s a reminder that working with nature, not against it, produces the very best results.

Looking Ahead - Why Red Polls Matter

Milking Red Polls isn’t just about the milk itself. It’s about what they represent - a link to an older way of farming that valued hardiness, balance, and respect for nature. These cows remind me why regenerative farming matters: it’s about working with animals that belong in the landscape, animals that thrive on grass and deliver quality, not quantity.

Not long ago, we were looking through some old farm documents and found records showing how many cows my grandfather used to milk. There was a time when he was milking 25 cows here. Today, with about 10–15 Red Polls in the herd, it feels like the farm has come full circle - back to where it started, but with a fresh, forward-looking approach.

Bringing Red Polls back to the farm feels like reconnecting with the roots of farming - before everything got fast and industrialised. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the best path forward is to honour what came before.

If you’re curious about the Red Polls, the dairy, or life on the farm, I’d love to share more. Follow along, drop a question, or come visit sometime - there’s always a story to tell and a welcome waiting here at Pentrefelin.