The film
210
A film about one old dairy cow and the people who took her from the field to the table.
The story
210 lived on an organic dairy farm in the English countryside. She was a black-and-white Holstein Friesian with a star on her forehead and her number painted on her hip. By eleven she’d had six calves and given 38,663 litres of milk, and she’d earned her retirement.
Most old dairy cows go for what the trade calls manufacturing beef, which means mince, burgers and ready meals. Over a drink in the pub, her farmer Jon was asked what would happen if they did it differently. Let her see out her retirement on the grass, then do it properly: the best butchers they could find, a curer to make bresaola and salami, a chef, and a table of the people who knew her.
She was booked in for the spring. Lockdown got there first, the restaurants shut, and 210 got a stay of execution and a few more months on the grass.
The film follows it through the seasons. Jade bringing the herd in before it’s light with Mac in the cab, the calving pens, the butcher’s shop, the curing room and a long lunch at the end. Nobody involved had done anything like it. The butchers had never cut up a dairy cow, and Jon had never eaten one of his own. There were jokes, a few arguments and quite a lot of wine.
And there’s no getting round why everyone was there. The film doesn’t dress that up, or tell you how to feel about it.
Themes
What is an old dairy cow worth?
A dairy cow is paid for by the litre. Once the milk stops, most of her value goes with it. So what is she worth after that, and who to?
01
Worth
Eleven years of milk and calves, and at the end the market will pay mince prices for her. The people around her thought she deserved better than that.
02
Care
Jade loves those animals and she’s with them every day, from before it’s light. She also sat down at the table. She doesn’t pretend that’s simple, and neither does the film.
03
Craft
Four butchers, a curer and a chef, none of whom had worked on an old dairy cow like this, making the most of every part of her. Steaks, bresaola, salami and sausages.
04
Honesty
It’s told in the order it happened, with no narrator telling you what to feel. The butchery is in there, and so is everything around it.
Context
What happens to old dairy cows?
- There are about 1.57 million dairy cows in Britain’s milking herd, the fewest on record.1
- The average cow in that herd is 4.6 years old.2 210 was eleven.
- A British dairy cow gives around 8,300 litres of milk a year.3
- From 1996 to 2005, after BSE, meat from cattle over 30 months old was banned from the UK food chain.4
- AHDB, Dairy October 2026 forecast update (GB milking herd, July 2026).
- AHDB, “Will there be enough milking cows to meet future demand?”, 9 July 2026 (as of April 2026).
- AHDB, UK milk yield (Defra figures): 8,278 litres per cow, 2024.
- The Over Thirty Month rule, introduced March 1996 and replaced by BSE testing in November 2005.
Questions
Before you watch
Is 210 a real cow?
Yes. 210 is her herd number, painted on her hip. She was a 100% Holstein Friesian, eleven years old, retired from milking and kept on grass.
Is it an anti-meat film?
No. It isn’t a meat advert either. Jade loves the animals, the butchers are proud of their work, and some of it is uncomfortable to watch. It’s all in there.
Does the film show her death?
No, that happens off camera. The film is frank about butchery and farm life, though, so it isn’t for everyone.
Where was it filmed?
On a working organic dairy farm in England and within a few miles of it: the butcher’s shop, the curing room and the kitchen. Contributors appear by first name only.
Where can I see it?
210 is in post-production. Screenings will be announced on the Screenings & News page.