'Sir David Beckham came to see our cattle a couple of years ago. He was fascinated': The stockman at the Glympton Estate

'Today, I was out on the farm at 6am, feeding the pedigree Aberdeen Angus cattle that are currently kept in. We have 90 breeding cows at Glympton and, of the 45 or so bulls that are produced each year, 40 are sold on for breeding. We keep a number of the heifer calves for our own breeding operation and sell the rest for the same task.

'During the remainder of the day, I checked the cattle that live out — spending some time halter-training youngsters—then I moved sheep. We have a flock of 400 breeding ewes here. It was a fairly typical day and, as did many before it, it ended at 6pm. When you’re a head stockman, there are never enough hours in the day. Even when I’m home in the evening, I’ll sometimes check the cameras in the calving shed.

'Calves arrive in October, January and April to May. A few are due this autumn, some sired by our top bull, Glympton Perseus. He replaced Glympton Riley, my favourite, who remained unbeaten in the show ring and who we lost to a field accident in December 2023. Most of our cattle are exceptional — we show several on the circuit annually — and they demonstrate the typical traits of the Aberdeen Angus, being friendly, easy to work with and producing excellent beef.

'I haven’t always been a stockman. My father, Robert, encouraged me to learn a trade and I worked in the building industry for three years, hated it and started relief milking on a dairy farm near my Dumfries home. My fascination with farming was sparked years earlier by visits to the livestock farm my grandfather, James Kirk, managed. Eventually, I left dairying and worked at a commercial beef operation at Crocketford for seven years, then did 14 years at the Annandale estate, where I helped to start a herd of Luing cattle.

'I uprooted myself and my wife, Vanessa, from Scotland and moved to Oxfordshire seven years ago after seeing the Glympton job advertised in The Scottish Farmer. I can’t imagine being anywhere else now and I love working alongside Vanessa, who is also a stockperson.

'Sir David Beckham came to see our cattle a couple of years ago. He was fascinated to hear about our breeding enterprise and we also discussed football — I think it perhaps helped that I’m a big Manchester United fan.'

Sir David Beckham chose Trevor Kirk as one of his countryside champions in the October 22, 2025 issue of Country Life. Click here for more information on how to subscribe.