Essex family business keep food local
A Rochford based farming family are on a mission to cut the 'food-miles' chain, by selling meat from traditionally-grazed cattle directly to local consumers, with help from the Rural Development Service (RDS).
Bolt Hall Farm at Canewdon, north of Rochford, adjoins the River Crouch and has 180 acres of riverside grazing for a herd of 50 suckler cows, with two thirds of the grazing land in an agreement under Defra's Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) scheme.
Brothers Paul and Mark Woodford have been farming their 580 acres for 26 years and have recently diversified into selling on beef cuts from the cows that graze on the marshland, directly to local consumers.
After conducting a successful pilot, the family applied to RDS's Rural Enterprise Scheme and were ultimately awarded a grant of over £8,000 to help fund the conversion of a farm building into a shop, the purchase of on-site refrigeration facilities and a refrigerated van, to allow delivery directly to the customers.
Fiona Woodford of Woodford Meats, said:
"The pilot we ran was a complete sell-out, so we were delighted that the RDS could help in taking our diversification project forward and, at the same time, help us support the local abattoir and butcher.
"The implementation of a cold store means that we can sort and pack the large amount of meat we receive back from our butcher in a properly chilled environment ready for customers to pick up their orders directly from the farm. The refrigerated van will allow us to collect the meat from the abattoir and deliver to our customers, including local pubs, golf clubs and, for the future, farmers markets.
"We've already had some amazing feedback from our existing customers, so now it's a matter of building our customer-base and getting the word out that quality local beef is available."
Mark Woodford from Bolt Hall Farm, said:
"We had been struggling with a declining income from the cattle markets so it seemed logical to work up a business that would benefit us and the local economy, especially once we knew there was a demand after conducting our pilot.
"It's also good for our customers to know that we carefully manage the 180 acres of traditional pasture through our ESA agreement with RDS. From the environmental measures we've taken on the riverside grassland, such as expanding vegetation and carefully managing the grazing area, we have attracted many rare species on site, such as nesting skylarks and shellducks, woodpeckers, barn owls, over wintering brent geese, lapwings, oyster catchers, kingfishers and we've even had an avocet sighting."
Sue Campbell from Ashingdon, a customer of Woodford Meats, said:
"I really value this service as I prefer to know the origins of the food I buy. The non-intensive methods of farming on the marshland grass result in absolutely top quality beef, and it's reassuring to know that I'm helping boost the local farming economy. I hope others will do the same."
Emily Spencer an adviser for the Rural Development Service in the East of England, said:
"This is an excellent project for RDS to support as it meets many regional targets and priorities. The need for the project was
clearly demonstrated by the feasibility study. In addition, two
part-time jobs have been created to help administer the orders and transport the meat. The butcher has also had to employ further help, so we hope that this project will continue to expand further, providing even more benefits to the local economy.
"It was also a huge positive that the Woodfords will work collaboratively - sourcing from other local farmers to provide sensitively reared, free range chicken, lamb and pork to sell direct to customers. This variety of meat products makes the Woodford's project even more likely to succeed and provides an outlet for the other farmers that they may not have otherwise had. I hope that people will go on to support this project to help the local economy and raise awareness of the importance of knowing the origins of your food."
