BLACK and white cattle have been Mike Miller’s life and now that has been recognised by Holstein UK with the prestigious title of Master Breeder.

Mr Miller, head of the family farm at Greville Hall, Hinton-on-the-Green, which also includes his wife, Shan, sons Paul and Steve and daughters Amy and Katie, said: “The title recognises a lifetime’s work in breeding cows and it does take a lifetime to achieve it.”

He said points were only awarded to home-bred animals carrying the herd prefix Shanael, in the case of the Miller family. “You have to breed a herd of cows of good quality and good conformation and production has to be in the top five per cent of the breed,” he said.

The Miller family moved to Greville Hall from the family farm in Somerset in 1996 to establish the Shanael herd. “We came here with 45 cows and 55 young stock,” Mr Miller said. “Now we have a milking herd of 270 and currently 210 young stock.”

Greville Hall and Downripp total some 500 acres on which grass, wheat and maize are the main crops. Four years ago a state-of-the-art milking parlour was installed and three-times-a-day milking introduced.

The Shanael prefix has headed the line-up in many show rings across the country with highlights including a supreme championship at the National Holstein Show and a Royal Show champion. The most recent success came at the All Britain Calf Show at Stoneleigh where Shanael Shottle Oprah 2 got an honourable mention in the final line-up after being placed second to the show champion, Blythebridge Sam Nanda in the class for calves born between August 1 and September 30, 2009.