Help rare Gloucester cows

Traditionally made using milk from Gloucester cows, Double Gloucester is under threat because there are just 450 of the cattle left in Britain and they produce less milk than other breeds.

Single Gloucester cheese must contain milk from Gloucester cows, but Double Gloucester is now being made with other milk. ‘It’s a worry whether there will be enough Gloucester cattle to keep the breed going,’ comments Diana Smart, an award-winning cheesemaker and farmer.

Yvonne Froehlich, Breed Secretary at the Gloucester Cattle Society, says the breed is ‘doubly vulnerable’ because most farms are in a TB hotspot. She urges us to buy Single Gloucester cheese in order to protect the remaining population.

** This article was first published in Country Life Magazine on September 3 2014

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