We began slaughtering our own livestock because of a series of coincidences. First, we have a mix of beef and goats. 99% of all goat meat is destined for the Halal trade, it's just a function of demand preference, but finding a halal butcher was challenging. We were keeping our animals longer than we wished which increased costs, and all butchering fees were going through the roof. My wife participated in a program that relocated refugees, one Syrian family had been "on the run" for nearly six years, and the husband was a professional butcher. He had more than 20 years of experience, and he was hungry for a challenge.
Because of the high demand for butchering services, not only were prices very high, but the meat was, let's say, processed a little too quickly. In short, we were dissatisfied with the expensive service we were receiving. At one point we figured out that the butchering fee was equivalent to nearly 40% of the value of the meat. We discovered, again my wife our primary researcher in the farm business, that a slaughterhouse was a relatively simple operation, and she had found our head butcher.
We built a small but state-of-the-art facility and had it approved in record time, maybe we were lucky in that the building was completed just as the pandemic started. Our facility could easily process three or four times what we needed. Initially, we operated one shift, but my wife thought that many local farmers would jump at the opportunity of having a local processing plant (less stress on the animals).
The gamble paid off, by the end of the first year 20% of our capacity was for other farmers. In 2023, our cattle accounts for less than 30% of total throughput. The plant operates on two shifts. We are still the only ones that require halal processing, but it doesn't matter the variance from European butchering is marginal and easy to accommodate (as a note: Kosher processing on the other hand is complex and demanding).
The key to our slaughterhouse is the thick rubber mats we installed which dampens sound and gives the cattle a sure footing. We installed a lot of LED lights, cattle have poor vision, and become agitated by dark corners.
The plant was built for three reasons, to retain the processing profits on the farm, ensure high-quality processing and cut management, that satisfies all our customers, and reduce animal stress. I may sound like a hypocrite considering that in the end, they are there to be slaughtered, but as a cattle owner seeing animals suffer is something we want to avoid.
Our slaughterhouse has been a big success, it also allows us to deal with both sides of the business, restaurants, hotels and directly to consumers (I've discussed that aspect before). In 2025, we will begin slaughtering pigs, as our herd mature.
On another note, we acquired 20 cats for the farm. We went to the RSPCA and raided their cattery. They are all neutered, but they will be great mousers. We set up areas in each of the warehouses for the new cats and they prowl the farm. It took them a while to figure out that doors shut as the sun set, but it's been a week, and they are still all there. 20 may seem like a lot, but we have several buildings.
Note: The processing parties for the chickens are managed completely separately because it's a farm activity and the chickens are not sold, the £ 0.75 we charge per pound is each chicken's feed contribution. This year we purchased about £ 3,000 for chicken feed, and the average weight is 3.5lb net.
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