Ben Coles breeds Welsh Black Cattle on his Meander farm at Logans Crossing

"I take pride in what I do and my animals aren't dealt with anyone else other than myself on foot," he said.

"I don't use the dogs, whips, diggers, bikes or quads.

"They're as stress free as possible."

It's the Camden Haven farmer's goal to get the breed off the critical list in Australia.

"They are an awesome breed of cattle as they are quiet, I can hand feed them and they have great maternal instincts."

Mr Coles' Logans Crossing farm, Meander is the furthest north registered breeding location of Welsh Black Cattle in Australia, with the next nearest location on the south coast of the state.

"We thought we'd be different up here, as we're sub tropical and after doing research on the cattle we found they're very adaptable," he said.

Mr Coles said a lot of Australian farmers are not aware of the breed, which originated in the hills and mountains of Wales.

"They are part of the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia, which means they are listed as critical," he said.

Welsh Blacks as the name suggests are a native British breed from the mountain and hill country of Wales and are descended from the cattle of pre-Roman Britain.

Mr Coles said they have been genetically untouched for 500 to 600 years, are dual purpose and can easily fatten on grass and thrive on winter pastures that other cattle would not eat. He looked for cattle he could work easily by himself and the Welsh Blacks are noted for their temperament and their maternal traits.

Mr Coles said there are less than 125 registered Welsh Black Cattle breeding females in the country and of those 40 are his.

Their original breeders came from Victoria and during the height of the drought further numbers were added from a breeder who run out of feed and water.

He also owns two working bulls and another two young bulls which will be sold as studs.

The farm sells cattle meat to local eateries in the region.

"It's a richer tasting meat, a leaner meat and it doesn't have a high fat content," he said.

"Even people who don't particularly like to eat meat have said they enjoy it."

Mr Coles is not a generational farmer and has had to learn a lot through his own research, and trial and error.

"I'm a medically retired police officer and my wife is a registered nurse," he said.

"I needed the break and I'm only just getting back to the point where I'm able to do a lot more."

He moved to the Logans Crossing property with his wife and three children 10 years ago.

"I bought my first six cattle from a woman at King Valley, Victoria and it was her father who brought the original cattle over to Australia from Wales," he said.

The Welsh Black Cattle are one of the least genetically modified breed of cattle in the world.

"They're pretty much the same as they were 600 years ago," Mr Coles said.

"They are still on par with size and weight of the Angus but they are shorter."

In case people think they are tiny cattle, Mr Coles said mature females range in weight from 500-700kg and bulls 800kg-1.2t. They are shorter than some breeds but make up their weight through their length of body.

However his hard work is paying off as about eight new calves have arrived since the start of spring.

"It's nice that we've contributed to the breed in the way we have," he said.

Low stress handling which involves only working the cattle on foot and using laneways to move them through their rotationally grazed paddocks and minimum inputs is basis of the cattle management at Meander.

"We aren't organic because we believe in vaccination and other treatments when necessary but we try to manage our farm on a sustainable regenerative basis," he said.

The next move in the farm's development and diversification was the building of a licensed boning room so they could market their beef direct to consumers. The Squeaky Gate Farm Shop in Kew stocks Meander Black Welsh meats and Murray's Craft Brewing at Shoal Bay is using the meat in their restaurant.

The farm, which also has accommodation, is described by Mr Coles as being the best thing for his mental health.

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