Sending livestock to slaughter can be one of the most fraught aspects of animal husbandry for smallholders. Abattoirs are very much the unglamorous end of the business, and it can be a struggle to entrust your animal’s life to someone whose job it is to end it. It’s an uneasy but crucial relationship and, while welfare concerns have been addressed to some extent by compulsory CCTV, the one question that never seems to go away is, how do I know that I am getting all my meat back?
Assessing the scale of the issue can be difficult to fathom. Abattoirs and meat processing facilities are regulated by the Food Standards Agency and local authorities, and there is no data collation on this type of complaint. Research by Country Smallholding revealed a mishmash of experiences: there were those with genuine grievances over mismatching beef forequarters and stray pig heads; those who could not praise their abattoir highly enough; and those with an innate suspicion or nervousness fuelled by rumours and a lack of knowledge of the quantity and type of meat to be expected from a carcase.
Apparently, the Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) regularly receives phone calls from small producers worried about meat matters.
According to senior business development manager Dick van Leeuwen: “We had one call from someone asking whether it was usual to receive loads of mince from a beef carcase and no fillet at all.”
THE CRISIS DEEPENS
This story is from the May 2020 edition of Country Smallholding.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May 2020 edition of Country Smallholding.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Secret World Of The Honey Bee
Who knew that honey bees are the best builders? Nicola Bradbear from Bees for Development reveals how they build their parallel wax combs with extraordinary accuracy
Tip the light fantastic
The latest offering from Ifor Williams Trailers is the Single Axle Tipper, which is simply perfect for small-scale farmers
The legacy of The Good Life
The Good Life captured the public’s imagination when it first aired in 1975. On Country Smallholding’s 45th birthday, Jeremy Hobson looks at this and other programmes with a self-sufficiency slant that have captivated urban and rural dwellers alike over nearly half a century
‘The hens took shelter under the pig trailer in the paddock'
A tree Armageddon frightens poultry diarist Julian Hammer’s flock and leaves him with a mammoth clear-up job
Tools of the trade
In the second part of his mini-series on tools that are useful around the holding, Kevin Alviti takes an in-depth look at the iconic scythe, a thistle paddle and forks that were once virtually indispensable to small-scale farmers
The nightclub bouncer of the sheep world
Adam Henson waxes lyrical about the Texel, which boasts such a stocky body that it resembles a box of muscle on four legs
Buying on a tight budget
As demand for smallholdings increases and prices continue to rise, is there a way to achieve your dream without forking out a fortune? In the first part of a new mini-series, Liz Shankland explores the possibilities
Crazy for crafts
In an ordinary back garden and single paddock near Kidderminster, Kay Dalloway has created both a thriving smallholding and a successful fibre business — all while working full time for the NHS. Helen Babbs drops by to find out about her ventures
Game on
A little preparation in the autumn months will help to make the transition into winter smoother and put your garden and tools on a better footing come the spring, says Stephanie Bateman
1975 And All That
Country Smallholding is 45 this month. To celebrate, Jeremy Hobson takes a look at some of the changes — both good and bad — to small-scale farming over that near half-century
