Dexter beef boxes?

[BrassMonkey]

At last I have my first two steers ready for kill my only problem is not enough space in the freezer! Consequently I need to sell some of the beef but never having done this before I am confused as to the best way to go about it. I have a slaughterhouse and butcher in mind but I feel sure he will ask me how I want it cutting and he might do what he wants rather than what is best for my prospective customers. Can someone give me an idea of what I should ask for to enable me to offer a reasonable mix in say 10kg (?) packs.

[Rob R]

It really depends who your prospective customer are/what they want. Best to go with what the butcher suggests the first time and see how it goes from there, making improvements for next time. I take it that you've already been in touch with the Local Authority regarding registering as a food business?

[Jac]

1) If you have not already done so, give the environmental health officer at your local council a call or send them an e-mail 28 days before you intend to start selling your beef. This (in my opinion) is where many people trying to sell their beef 'fall at the first hurdle' as they become trapped selling 'illicit' meat at low prices especially as they haven't developed their customer base and cannot advertise their wares for fear of being found out. Since you are using the abattoir and butcher route it is likely that the EHO will just ask a few questions most probably about temperature control re how long the meat is going to be out of a chilled environment and what you are going to do about it? but other than that, will probably not make a 'song and dance' about it.
2) When is your beef going to be ready? Sometimes abattoirs (esp small ones) get very busy and there can be a waiting list of several weeks.
3) Do what Rob says, first time stick with what your butcher suggests.
4) Aim to sell the two carcases. Unless you work at a big place, have a large family or a huge circle of friends it is a big ask for a first timer. You will probably find that you are left with enough for yourself without deliberately putting some aside.
5) Forward planning is everything. The earlier the better to get advanced orders. Do not leave it until you are on the point of cutting!
6) See the Dexter Cattle Society's web site they have some useful info. Don't know if you are a member of the DCS and have joined the certification scheme if not, do not label/advertise your beef as 'Dexter' until you are.
Good luck with your new venture.

[ann]

You don't say how big your steers are. I personally would not attempt to do two together as you are going to get a lot of meat back at once. An average sized dexter split between boxes of 10k means you will need approx 8 - 10 customers per animal. I would ask your butcher to split your carcase between the number of boxes you decide you can sell and get him to put the same selection in each box. I never handle any of the meat i sell, it is boxed by my butcher and goes straight from him to my customers, but I have been going to the same butcher for over 20 yrs so we do have a good relationship. If he packs up, i shall probably sell mine on the hoof from then on as he would be a hard act to follow.

Good luck

[BrassMonkey]

Thanks for your replies, I can see it's going to be as straightforward as I thought, my steers are 27 months and well grown so I'm hoping for a decent result. I'm not sure why I can't call them Dexters that seems like the Yorkshire pudding and Cheddar cheese thing. Anyway I'll have to get my thinking cap on now unless anyone else has ideas?

[SteveM]

as far as i can see there is no problem what soever selling your beef as "dexter"

as with the linear assesment the marketing schemes value is yet to be proven.

only sell ours to friends either in quaters or halves. less messing about just work out what you want for the whole animal after charges and divide by 2 or 4.

[Rob R]

as far as i can see there is no problem what soever selling your beef as "dexter"

I'm afraid there is, the link below gives the details;

So you must apply to the scheme if you want to give information such as:

the region or locality where the animal was born and/or reared (eg ‘Cumbrian’)
the breed or cross breed

[BrassMonkey]

But surely that link refers to additional labelling of the product and as I don't intend sticking "additional labels" on then I'm OK. The people I intend selling to are people that have seen my Dexters reared traditionally on grass - so what do I say if they ask me what breed the beef came from?
Steve

[ann]

When I sell dexters direct to my butcher I give him the birth notification card and he displays it in his shop. He also writed up on his display board, Dexter beef supply by me. Is he going to get prosecuted for saying its dexter beef? I don't envy the person who tries

[Jac]

No, because you are a certification scheme member.

People get prosecuted all the time by Trading Standards for one thing or another.

http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/1 ... el_breach/

[Rob R]

But surely that link refers to additional labelling of the product and as I don't intend sticking "additional labels" on then I'm OK. The people I intend selling to are people that have seen my Dexters reared traditionally on grass - so what do I say if they ask me what breed the beef came from?
Steve

You're fine saying what you like, although there are others laws about mis-selling but they'd have to catch you at it. This just refers to anything written down, either on the beef traceability label (make sure it has all that info too) or in addition to it.

The law is designed for large scale food chain systems and us small scale producers are really just an inconvenience to the authorities so quite often you'll find them trying to hammer a square peg into a round hole. It's very easy to get away with a lot of things if no one is looking (an awful lot of people do when it comes to selling meat) but if they decide to make an example of you for whatever reason or a member of the public has it in for you then it's best to start out right and not give them the ammunition, as it's relatively easy to comply with.

[Jac]

But surely that link refers to additional labelling of the product and as I don't intend sticking "additional labels" on then I'm OK. The people I intend selling to are people that have seen my Dexters reared traditionally on grass - so what do I say if they ask me what breed the beef came from?
Steve

It's very easy to get away with a lot of things if no one is looking (an awful lot of people do when it comes to selling meat) but if they decide to make an example of you for whatever reason or a member of the public has it in for you then it's best to start out right and not give them the ammunition, as it's relatively easy to comply with.

Yes, regulations for environmental health and labelling are relatively easy to comply with and not worth the risk - 2014 FSA figures reporting 500,000 cases of food poisoning with 43,000 cases directly linked to lamb and beef.