Hale Farm Beef and Lamb

Beef

Only steers (young male cattle) go to make up the beef boxes. Slaughtering is carried out at approved abattoirs within 15 and 30 minutes drive of the farm, so that stress is reduced as much as possible. A master butcher does the butchering and boxing for us. Our meat is hung for 3 or 4 weeks, so that the flavour and tenderness is improved. Red Devon meat in particular is known for its taste, texture and marbling.

Our cattle are fully registered and therefore fully traceable, and occasionally we have the added bonus of being able to see their mums over the fence! The steers are preferentially sourced from local stock, purchased at a young age direct from suckler herds.

Our cattle are free from additives and we farm as closely to the organic ethos as possible. We keep our cattle out at grass throughout the year, but they do have access to a covered building and yard in winter, as well as additional hay and silage, made on the farm during the summer months. We also like to set stock, which means the cattle can move freely between a number of fields during the summer. It's amazing how quickly they develop their own pattern of movements around the grounds during the day and they do have their favourite sleeping and dozing spots!

We do not apply pesticides to our land and we are currently in the process of joining a countryside stewardship scheme. Our aim is and always has been to tend to our stock in a friendly and kindly way, attending to their welfare and social needs, and the quality of the beef is a testament to those natural farming methods.

Lamb

Our Mule/Texel and Mule/Charollais lambs are born from 1st April to the end of May each year. They stay with the ewes for a maximum of 12 weeks. Again traditional farming methods are used and the health and welfare of the flock is always our primary concern. We do feed a good wholesome organic feed supplement to the ewes leading up to lambing, when energy levels can require a boost. Slaughtering is done at a local approved abattoir within 30 minutes drive of the Farm, so that stress is reduced and the meat preparation and boxing, completed to customer's individual requirements, is carried out by a local butcher.

Black Welsh Mountain Lamb

As we live on Mendip we are committed to preserving the natural unimproved grassland that surrounds the house. So it seemed a good idea to bring to Hale Farm a small flock of primitive sheep – the Black Welsh Mountains – Arnie and the girls arrived in 2000 and each year they have done their own thing on Big Toot and Little Toot.

Lambs are generally born on or about Christmas Day through to February each year. The ewes are excellent mothers and are fiercely protective of their (usually) single lambs.

Black Welsh Mountain Lamb is known as light lamb (the carcass is much smaller than commercial breeds). But what it might lack in quantity it more than makes up for in quality – the meat is rather gamey in taste, exceptionally tender and with just the right amount of fat.