Apart from watching for mud it is a quiet time on the farm. No calving and just a case of keeping the cattle happy and feed, which at the moment is easy. Oh don’t forget those cattle going off to the works.

Farmers market in Hill Street is going great and it is good to catch up with many of our Wellington customers at the market as we deliver packs ordered online. The other day Rodney Hide came to the market and mentioned the “Weston a Price” diet to me. Something he has been on for a while, at least according to his you tube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-GG6vKvP5Y). Something I hadn’t heard about before, but a little searching revealed the diet is about knowing where your food comes from and healthy eating resulting from this. Something I definately agree with and was part of the reason we started our business after eating our own food off our land.

Check it out at – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wellington-New-Zealand-Chapter-Of-The-Weston-A-Price-Foundation/166160236762371.

We have expanded out freezer / chiller space and can now be seen travelling to the Hill Street Farmers market with refrigerated trailer.  This is brilliant as it enables us to provide both frozen and chilled product, as well as have more stock available – though this is countered with wanting to provide fresh on-demand. (see a photo on our facebook page).

If you haven’t seen out facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Rannochmeats) then check out the great recipes on http://www.ceridwynscauldron.blogspot.co.nz/.  Caroline buys Rannoch Meats Red Devon beef and has some excellent recipes to try.  The burgundy steak and mushroom pie looks exceptionally delicious, so think I will be trying that one soon.

With winter approaching we have some family casserole packs at the moment – for those not wanting a full quarter:

• $50 pack (5kg) or $100 pack (10kg) of casserole cuts.  The casserole cuts are chuck, silverside, blade, thick flank and gravy beef.

Not on our website, so if interested send me an email and we can arrange delivery.

The horse meat saga in the UK continues to be a source of articles and in particular driving people into buying local.  You will see some photos of our cattle in this article from chef Kevin Blakeman. http://www.chefkevinblakeman.com/site_map/buy-from-the-source-and-avoid-another-scandal

As always farm visits welcomed, though I would advise to start bringing your gumboots.

Thanks

Julian

http://fresh.co.nz/stop-horsing-around-with-our-food/

Thanks to all those that participated in our recent survey. As we grow, we want to esnure we continue to provide the right products, great quality and service so the feedback has been valuable. We asked both those who buy from us and those that have looked at purchasing but haven’t yet. The results of the survey showed four main findings:

• Quality of the beef and saving money were the most important factors
• 78% of prospective buyers said they would consider buying direct
• Food Safety Certification was the biggest consideration for those who were considering buying
• The biggest obstacle to buying bulk was lack of freezer space.

We are obviously committed to the quality and value of purchasing in bulk so these will continue to be a main stay of what we provide. I have published our food safety forms onto our website for those that are interested. Rest assured that we are fully registered and the meat produced is in line with food safety regulations and guidelines.

Some of the other feedback was around our courier and delivery service. We will be working through with the courier company that we use to see how we can resolve any issues. There are some options around other food specialist providers so I will be looking into this. Cost is a factor, but also is good quality service, so I will let you know if anything changes.

Thanks once again for participating in the survey.

On the farm our final calf for the season arrived the other day. Those that have spoken to me in the last couple of weeks will also tell you about the story of the breach calf that I helped birth also. For an person who spends days working in an IT organisation to come home and help birth a calf it was quite a day of excitement.

Like most of the north island we are in the middle of a very dry summer. Wairarapa hasn’t been declared a drought yet, but seems to be close. Luckily we have lots of hay put away have been feeding out morning and night to the cattle. They are not starving, but with no grass on the ground they start pushing at fences gates. Only one has managed to get across to the neighbours so fingers crossed it rains soon.

We are now starting to supply some cafes with our beef, so if you are in Wellington check out Ti Kouka cafe on Willis Street (http://www.tikouka-cafe.co.nz/) and Nikau Cafe in civic square (http://nikaucafe.co.nz/).

As always feedback and questions welcomed or even a farm visit – though at the moment expect a hot dry Australian looking land.

Julian