Selling lamb from farm

[GrannyAching]

I'm sure this has been covered lots of times but I am failing in my search facilities! I think I have found a (legal) way have having my lambs slaughtered, processed and packaged truly locally. I am pretty confident I can shift all the carcasses I will have but I expect to have to freeze some here for people to collect. Where do I find out the rules I need to follow re storage etc, please? I know I'll probably have to speak to the local trading standards etc in the end but I'd like to be informed before I start. TIA

 

[Old Tip]

We do this and you need to have a Hygiene Certificate and they check out the premises for health and hygiene, biggest issue we've had is that our water failed so we have to get a uv light system fitted. Not sure if this will affect you if your getting all the cutting and packing done at another registered premises mind

 

[Chasingmytail]

It really isnt difficult at all. If you dont touch the meat ie all done by butcher then its easier. At this stage its cheaper and easier to send to abbattor and have that delivered to the butcher who will cut and package. All you need is a hygiene certificate, inform the LA environmental dept, Keep records of temp if storing, You need to ensure the labelling is correct ie BBD is different to freezing however, keep head low and sell as fresh. Dont say you are freezing as strictly speaking you should have a blast freezer. Inform insurance that you are doing this as it covers you. Label well. Thats it really!

 

[GrannyAching]

@Old Tip - Our water isn't fit for human consumption but we've been drinking it for years! In my head I think we just need a completely separate freezer from the household but that may be well out of date.

 

[Pasty]

Been looking at this a lot and the options seem to be freeze and send as orders come in or kill on demand (with hefty deposit up front). Latter probably better but maybe not always possible. Contact your local Environmental Health for certification. It's really not that difficult as long as you have everything covered. If you are taking packed meat from a butcher, putting it into a freezer and then sending out, there is little chance it will be contaminated. If fresh then it goes straight into the courier box or gets delivered same day. I would think getting it vac packed from the butcher is the best bet.

 

[Old Tip]

@Old Tip - Our water isn't fit for human consumption but we've been drinking it for years! In my head I think we just need a completely separate freezer from the household but that may be well out of date.

Same here re the water, but every visitor we ever have says it's the best water they have ever tasted

 

[Old Tip]

It's dead hard to sell frozen meat unless it's to people very close by, folk want fresh and next day delivery

 

[JCMaloney]

If you are selling whole or half then don`t worry about freezing it as the folk buying it will do the same, just you will do it better than them!
The sort of people who will buy from you want to know where there food came from, and whats happened to it.
Bred it, reared it, killed it, processed & frozen.
Keep it simple, they`ll love it.

 

[It was already broken.]

Change the subject, sorry, but those selling direct, how do you charge?

 

[Jerry]

Charged last seasons lamb at £140 a head or £75 for half.

Priced worked out on cost to produce and budget £35 kill and cut. I do the delivery mostly as the buyers like to see me and talk about the lamb.

I monitor fat lamb prices locally and will adjust pricing to take into account but I get better margin with my private sales vs market.

 

[Frank-the-Wool]

Before you ask how much to charge, you need to work out how much it is going to cost for each lamb first.
Abattoir charges vary massively as do cutting and packaging costs.
What about the fifth quarter?
Who gets the skin money?

If you are going to be selling fresh meat you will need to either have a chiller van or some way of making sure the meat you transport is kept cold.

What will your target weight to sell be? No good trying to sell small 16kg carcass if your customers want big 25kg carcass.
You need to know your market and costs first then work out how much to charge.

 

[GrannyAching]

The sort of people who will buy from you want to know where there food came from, and whats happened to it.
Bred it, reared it, killed it, processed & frozen.

These are the people who have made me think about doing it, people we meet and talk to; people who ask about questions about drugs etc. They know we aren't organic but as I tell them, I know exactly what treatment every animal has had and why. Most people are fascinated by FEC counts (strange or what?). Thanks for the inputs. I'll see how it all pans out.

Anybody know how to find out where I can get the skins treated and how the heck you get them there??

 

[Old Tip]

We get some skins done at a place in devon and we send them with the same courier that takes the meat out for us, theres only certain times of year they will take skins and its a long while till you get them back plus its not cheap but they are another line you can sell especially if they are a bit different colour or wool wise

 

[Jerry]

The place in Devon is:

http://www.devoniaproducts.co.uk/

 

[GrannyAching]

Just to report back as a way of saying thanks for all the advice: I got royally messed around by one guy which cost me nearly a month. In the end he put me in touch with the most amazing, helpful butcher/farmer. She took the lambs to slaughter, brought them home, butchered them any way people wanted, bagged them, labelled it all up so it was easy for me to work out what to charge and made sure there were enough packs of liver and heart for everyone to have some. She even put the lungs into handy sized packs for "the dog people".

The carcasses were "horribly" lean as January is our absolute worse month even if we feed. The deadweightswere18 to 23kg. I only sold to friends or friends of friends on the strict understanding that if it was horrible they could have their money back!

So far 100% positive feedback. It is really tasty, cooks well whether in the traditional joints or as steaks/burgers/sausages. Lack of external fat cover doesn't seem to be a problem but I'm wondering if there is enough wiltie in most of them to put intra muscular fat in there. They were entire so that might add to the taste.

Even better I didn't have to go to the mart and I reckon I got the equivalent of top mart price for animals that could well have been pushed through as stores because we aren't FA.

So thanks again. It's definitely something I'll be looking into doing more of.

 

[Chasingmytail]

thats good news. There is a difference between going full out as a retailer or just doing the odd kill. Personally, better keeping it quiet but legal and doing the odd one and offering cash back if you arent happy. Its very difficult to find old fashioned good butchers but sounds like a good one.

 

[GrannyAching]

She is awesome. It's not really fair of me to discuss her business here but we were blown away by what she and her family are achieving.

I have no illusions about the difference between shifting six and sixty or even 600 like she is. No aspirations to an empire just like my island to be a little nicer.