Traditionally Grown, Grass-Fed Beef
Our herd of Aberdeen Angus cows graze on the steeper fields to the southwest of the farm which are otherwise unsuitable for cropping. Grass silage for the herd is made in the summer to keep the cows happy and well fed during the winter. When inside for the winter months, they enjoy warm bedding of straw produced on-farm. The cattle from the herd are sold locally at the Mount Pleasant Inn, where the community benefits from the sustainably sourced meat.
Finishing Unit
The beef production unit located at Edgeworthy Farm (situated 1 mile from Menchine Farm) has been operational since December 2019. We are contract finishers for The Buitelaar Group, the heritage calves are mainly Aberdeen Angus X and have come from a variety of farms. Calves are 3-4 months old when they arrive with us. We maintain high standards of animal welfare. Great pride is taken in the appearance and good health of all cattle on farm.
A major part of the cattle is their production of FYM (farm-yard-manure) which is regularly cleaned out of the sheds and fed into the Menchine AD plant. This results in the beef production unit being a zero-waste finishing system. In return from feeding the FYM into the AD plant, we receive high quality fertiliser which is used to grow barley and wheat in our nearby fields. This is the same barley and wheat that is used to feed the cattle, making the whole process circular.
Our ration mill and diet feeder allows for a high quality of evenly mixed feed to ensure a high rate of growth is maintained. A grant for the countryside productivity scheme allowed us to purchase parts of a new cattle handling system (cattle crush, weigh bars, EID reader and weigh scale). Combined with us building a new race and handling pens, weighing and medicating large numbers of cattle has been made a lot more efficient and safer.
