Archived News

17th July 2012

Thanks to all our Beltie beef customers for collecting their boxes of beef today. 

The Belted Galloway cattle graze on the herb rich downland and natural pastures around Wotton and Abinger; it’s a slow but steady process over two and half years to reach our deliciously natural beef.

We take care in raising the cattle and do our utmost to keep stress to a minimum and it’s important that the onward journey from Manor Farm is also to a very high standard including the hanging and cutting of the beef.  To reduce stress I prefer to send two animals togetherto the abattoir  but this means finding skilled butchers who have the capacity to cut two beasts at a time.

The Holly Gap team at work: Kathy, Henry, Simon, Michael

The sides of beef are returned to our friends Michael and Kathy Fordham who are farmers in Sussex who have diversified in a number of ways including a butchers and farm shop which moved to its new location last year at Holly Gap Farm. On the days that the shop is closed to the public Michael and Kathy and their skilled butchers, Henry and Simon will be cutting beef, pork or lamb for other farmers who sell their produce direct.

Simon tieing a fore-rib and Michael dicing beef

I really enjoy my days at Holly Gap and appreciate the good humour and hard work that Kathy, Michael, Simon and Henry put in to help us produce so many fabulous boxes of Manor Farm Belted Galloway beef.

Kathy weighing and labelling beef

After days of butchery Henry is doing the all important  washing up!

Here I am with a fore-rib of beef and an ever growing bowl of mince behind me to bag up!