An inspiring collaboration spanning field to fork, between farmers, chefs, butchers and industry organisations was held recently at Town End Farm Shop in Airton, in the Yorkshire Dales.
The event was developed in direct response to a desire by farmers who are part of Pasture & Profit in Protected Landscapes, a project delivered by Pasture for Life and funded by Defra through its Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, to be better equipped with information, to enable them to successfully direct market their beef to consumers. Ultimately this will enable them to build long term resilience into their farm businesses by adding value for their animals whilst at the same time supporting the nature friendly farming practices that Farming in Protected Landscapes funding aims to support.
Throughout the afternoon a group of chefs from renowned restaurants in the North, as well as representatives from businesses; Lake District Farmers and Swaledale Butchers, joined the farmers to learn more about the whole process and build relationships that could subsequently be mutually beneficial for all.
Beginning in October, a large group of farmers, including several from the Forest of Bowland, were hosted at Megs Farm, Long Preston by James and Amy Newhouse to see three of their Pasture for Life certified belted galloway cattle of different ages, shortly before processing. After a month of maturation, the farmers, now joined by the chefs, reconvened on the 7th November to furnish themselves with key information about the next stages and discuss how future partnerships would be valuable for everyone.
Kicking off the afternoon session, recognising that utilising the whole carcase is critically important, butchery consultant Rich Summers led an engaging live butchery demonstration in the butchery with the carcases. Focussing specifically on demystifying the terminology used for all the different cuts, Rich then demonstrated how less known and underutilised parts of the carcase can make cost effective, delicious and nutritious meals whilst contributing significantly towards helping utilise the whole carcase.
After the butchery session, the chefs and industry partners, were very kindly hosted by Neil Heseltine and Leigh Weston at Hill Top Farm, Malham to see first hand the benefits that their herd of Pasture for Life Certified Belted Galloway Cattle bring to the farm, enhancing biodiversity and the landscape, whilst being profitable and enabling the couple to have the work / life balance they value for their family.
For the farmers, the afternoon continued with two further sessions, one led by Paul Bache from food industry training experts Verner Wheelock , based in Skipton, focussed on appropriate legislation. The second of which featured Dr Gillian Butler from Newcastle University highlighting the nutritional and health benefits of meat produced in pasture based systems.
Hosted by the fantastic team at Town End Farm Shop, headed up by Chris Wildman, in their atmospheric cafe, everyone sat down together to celebrate and enjoy a delicious meal, showcasing lots of different cuts and menu ideas, all cooked by industry renowned chef Steph Moon, incorporating meat from the three belted galloway cattle, seen back in October.
With not a hungry person left in the room, the evening concluded with Chris and Rich, leading an engaging charcuterie session, an additional way of adding value to carcases and utilising joints like topside and silverside, which can often be overlooked.
“The number of people attending this event demonstrates the desire for farmers to explore ways of maximising the value of their animals” explains Project Manager for Pasture for Life, Rob Bunn “Pulling together this event has been a real team effort and I’m delighted we’ve been able to respond to farmers requests, by putting it on”.
The event was funded by Farming in Protected Landscapes Funding from 5 Protected Landscapes in the North of England; Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks and Nidderdale, North Pennines and Forest of Bowland National Landscapes, as part of the Pasture for Life Programme ‘Pasture & Profit in Protected Landscapes’. Farmers in these five protected landscapes are invited to continue to sign up to the free programme by contacting Rob on email; rob@pastureforlife.org
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