Six cattle breeds with different body sizes and milk yields were compared for growth and food intake in a time-controlled feeding system. The breeds were South Devon, British Friesian x Charolais, British Friesian, Hereford, Aberdeen Angus and Jersey. The feeding system used electronic feeding gates activated by time clocks to give six meals a day of differing lengths. The experiment was intended to investigate possible relationships between the mature size of a breed and the traits associated with the rate of feeding, as well as to explore whether time-controlled feeding was the route to the commercially attractive leaner meat, rather than the system of weighing out cattle feeds. St Clair Taylor was the project leader, with R.A Shaw as associated worker.