A Norfolk livestock farmer is being forced to sell half of his "seriously good-natured cattle" - nurtured by a lifetime of mutual trust and affection.
Julian Pearson, 60, is a full-time IT consultant who lives with his wife Lesley at Red Barn Farm in Holme Hale, between Dereham and Swaffham.
But his spare time is dedicated to his beloved herd of Belted Galloway beef cattle.
He has built an intimate bond with the animals and, through grooming, treats and "back-rubs", he has even trained some to let him ride on their back - including King Leon the bull and Normski, a steer named in memory of Mr Pearson's former scout leader.
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But now the loss of 30pc of his grazing, prompted by a land sale after the death of the landowner in nearby Bradenham, means about half of the 15-strong herd will need to be sold.
He is hosting an open morning from 9am on Saturday to encourage other "Beltie" breeders to interact with the animals and make an offer - but only if they share his attitude to their wellbeing.
"We are talking seriously good natured cattle," he said. "A great deal of work has gone in to make them this way.
"The ones that I am selling are breeding stock, so they will make new friends and I can only hope my fellow Belted Galloway breeders have the same attitude to their cattle as I do - and I can tell that when they come to the open day.
"I am keeping Normski, because he is my riding steer, I need to change the bull anyway because I have got his genetics in the herd, and I will probably end up with Lightning, Hyacinth, their two calves and potentially one other cow. By the time I have downsized to three cows, it is economically not viable to have your own bull.
"There is a late breaking part of this story, which is that someone else is moving into Bradenham who was asking about grass management, and they may well be in a position to offer me 10 acres of grazing.
"But I have to assume I won't get the extra grazing. I can always grow out again. What I cannot do is feed all of these animals on five acres of land.
"Either way it is an opportunity for me to downsize some of the stock that I've got too much of."
Mr Pearson said he likes to think of himself as a "welcome visitor to the herd", with his interactions creating an innate understanding of his animals.
"There are people who tell me I am an idiot and the worst thing you can do is trust an animal," he said. "But the safest thing to do is to learn your cows. I can tell from a grunt if the bull is giving me a warning. I can tell from the tone of a moo if there has been a calf being born."
Mr Pearson, who is also a bull inspector for the Belted Galloway Cattle Society, started his herd with the help of a friend in Yorkshire in 2005 - and by 2010 he had 27 Belted Galloways.
The barn at Holme Hale was built in 2013 and Mr Pearson is continuing to upgrade the farm's infrastructure in the hope it could one day benefit the "next generation" of his two step-children and four step-grandchildren.
Another reason for downsizing the herd is to buy equipment to start doing mechanical agricultural contracting in between his computer contracting.
But he said the farm would never replace his own income.
"This will never be a full income," he said. "It haemorrhages cash. I just spent £24,000 on concrete [resurfacing the ground alongside the barn]. That would take about 100 cattle to pay for, and I give birth to six a year.
"It is more a case of building the infrastructure so if I hand over to the next generation or the 'grand' generation, at the age of 18 or 25, they won't suddenly have to find tens of thousands of pounds, which I will have already ploughed in."
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