Farmer Profiles

Stephen Smyth

Stephen Smyth grew up on the family farm at Victoria Bridge, Strabane, Co Tyrone. It is a part- time farm business which he runs alongside his father, managing a herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle. He rears and finishes over 200 cattle for Tesco through Foyle Meats. Two thirds of the herd is Aberdeen Angus.

Like his father and grandfather before him, he has concentrated on the Aberdeen Angus breed. They are suited to our climate and reared on a grass based diet. Grassland management and environmental care are extremely important to Stephen; he finds the system he has in place works well for him. There’s hard work and dedication in bringing a herd of 200 to market and it goes without saying, he takes great pride in his job. Stephen also recognises the importance of traceability. Put simply people like to know where their food is coming from. The Smyth family has been supplying Tesco with quality beef cattle for over 20 years and Aberdeen Angus beef cattle through the ‘Aberdeen Angus Certified Beef Ltd’ for over 8 years.